New Orleans Pelicans Given Surprising Playoff Prediction as Pivotal Season Approaches

The New Orleans Pelicans improved their roster over the offseason, and can only go up from last year's performance.

Matt Bush-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans finished the 2023-24 season with a 49-33 record, winning a spot in the NBA Playoffs through the play-in tournament.

In that play-in tournament, superstar forward Zion Williamson injured his left hamstring, making him unavailable for the team's first-round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who would win the series with a four-game sweep.

Changes were made in the offseason to the roster, with Dejounte Murray being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks via trade, and Williamson worked harder during the break than he ever has in his career to improve his durability.

While many have been skeptical of New Orleans and their lack of a "true" starting center, it is hard to look at the team now compared to where it was last year and see anything but improvements.

David Aldridge of The Athletic tends to agree, as in a recent mailbag article, Aldridge named the Pelicans as a Western Conference team that would not need the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs.

If you have seen any of my articles about this team over the last month, you will find that I heavily agree with that assessment.

While the Western Conference presents a much harder path to the NBA Playoffs than the Eastern Conference, New Orleans has more than enough talent to get there in much easier fashion than they did last year, assuming they can stay healthy.

That has already proven to be an issue, with Trey Murphy III, who signed an extension with the team on Monday, injuring his hamstring in a practice session just days before the first game of the preseason, and it will leave him sidelined for at least the first game of the 2024-25 campaign.

Once Murphy returns, things should get rolling for the Pelicans, with veteran guard CJ McCollum assumed to move to the bench, giving the Pelicans one of the deepest rotations in the NBA this year.

While the lack of a "true" starting center could hurt New Orleans at times, specifically on the boards, the team still has enough offensive firepower to overcome the difference and is capable of shooting any team out of the gym on any given night.

I have predicted the team to finish the year with a 52-30 record, and having that record last year would have given the Pelicans the fourth seed in the NBA Playoffs, finishing one win ahead of the LA Clippers.

Should all go as planned this year, that is a highly likely possibility.

Health is a key factor for this team, though, and it is paramount to how far this team can make it.