Examining the Thunder's First-Round Opponent in the New Orleans Pelicans

Oklahoma City's first playoff matchup has been set. Let's look at how the Thunder should fare against the Pelicans in the first round.

Mar 26, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) makes a / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Play-In Tournament has concluded, and the Thunder has finally discovered who they'll see in the first round beginning on Sunday.

The New Orleans Pelicans, without their star forward in Zion Williamson, managed to take down an equally depleted Sacramento Kings team on Friday night, advancing to the postseason as the No. 8 after holding strong position of No. 6 for a solid portion of the season.

But they rallied behind 43 combined points from Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas and some strong bench production, as well as making the most out of their scoring opportunities through shooting 51.8% on their 85 tries to defeat the Kings.

Now they look ahead to a well-rested Thunder squad, heading into playoff territory in Oklahoma City where the atmosphere should be as electric as playoff years past, facing one of the best young teams in NBA history.

These two teams have a fairly rich history duking it out in the Western Conference, with the Thunder taking this regular season series 2-1 after losing the series 1-3 the year prior.

Without Williamson, this should be a feasible matchup to get past and into the second round of the playoffs, as a recently struggling CJ McCollum and streaky Ingram aren't best suited to take out a team designed like the Thunder. Also missing a designated floor general and point guard, without a true director of the offense paired with the absence of Williamson will be something highly difficult to overcome, especially against a team who doesn't quite have a glaring hole in their game.

As for Oklahoma City, this extended amount of time off could serve as a hindrance or a blessing, as sufficient rest can turn into rust. But with the buzz around the city and the joyous anticipation for the Thunder to bring the playoffs back to Bricktown, it's hard to think they'll let their fan base down in Game 1 on Sunday night.

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