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The New Orleans Pelicans took care of business on Friday as they defeated a depleted New York Knicks side, 113-105. The Pels needed this win in order to keep up the pace as a handful of teams continue to battle for final positioning in the West. After Friday's win, this is how New Orleans' playoff/Play-In scenario is looking like right now.
At this point, the Pelicans can still finish anywhere from fifth to ninth with just one game remaining in their schedule. A lot of factors will come into play for this to happen, though, with just 2.5 games separating the fifth-placed Golden State Warriors from the No. 9 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. The Pelicans are stuck right in between, and they will obviously need to win their final game — a matchup against the Wolves on Sunday — in order to give themselves a chance to secure a guaranteed playoff spot.
The best-case scenario for New Orleans is if they end up with an identical record with the Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pels would emerge as the winners of the joint tie-breakers, which means that New Orleans will finish as the No. 5 seed. The prize at stake is a first-round matchup against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns.
If in case the Warriors win at least one out of their remaining two games, and if the Pels tie with the Lakers and the Clippers, then the tie-breaker rule will once again allow New Orleans to finish above the two LA teams. In this scenario, the Pelicans will end up in sixth and will secure the final guaranteed playoff spot.
If the Lakers lose their last game, however, and the Warriors, Clippers, and Pels all win, then New Orleans will end up as the No. 7 seed. An eighth-placed finish is still also a possibility for the Pelicans, but the worst-case scenario for them is if they lose to Minnesota on Sunday, then they will be relegated to the No. 9 seed.
