The New Orleans Pelicans have eight games remaining before going into the NBA All-Star break but the franchise finds itself in a familiar position. The franchise is once again fighting to get above the NBA Play-In Tournament's cutoff line as the Western Conference playoff race takes shape. The standings are starting to sort themselves out, with three distinct tiers. The Pelicans have top-tier talent but are currently struggling to stay above the elimination-game cut-off line.

Third-year head coach Willie Green is walking a fine line with his rotations this season but the Detroit Mercy alum has done well the last two campaigns to guide skeleton crew squads missing All-Star talents to an NBA Play-In spot. Zion Williamson (38) and Brandon Ingram (43) have been available for most of the team's 47 games. CJ McCollum (33), Larry Nance Jr. (30), and Trey Murphy (22) were out for longer stretches this season but Green is now working with a fully healthy roster.

The expectations for this year's squad are higher than the seventh seed and the entire organization has been adamant about that since Media Day. It's a long 82-game season though and the Pelicans can put together a nice post-All-Star break run. It's a slim hope but a top-four seed is still in reach. New Orleans will just have to play up to their potential more consistently.

Pelicans likely too far behind West's top-4

Willie Green and the Pelicans (26-21) are in eighth, seven games behind the first-place* Minnesota Timberwolves (33-14). The Denver Nuggets (33-15), Oklahoma City Thunder (32-15), and LA Clippers (30-15) are all within striking distance. The top three teams keep shuffling depending on the night and discrepancies in games played. Ty Lue's Clippers have been downright lethal since incorporating James Harden's All-NBA talents. They are 22-5 since December 2.

Chasing down all four of those teams for the top spot is very unlikely, even with the fifth-easiest schedule. Homecourt advantage in the first round is a far more realistic goal but is still a long shot considering the Pelicans would have to jump three teams just to secure fourth. Also, the teams they are chasing for the fourth seed have it easy as well. The Timberwolves (16th), Clippers (17th), Thunder (19th), and Nuggets (20th) have smooth runways to the playoffs lined up on their calendars.

Opportunities to get two game swings are few and far between. New Orleans has only five games remaining against teams ahead of them in the standings. It's both a blessing and a curse because dropping games against lottery teams will come with added scrutiny for Green, Williamson, and Ingram.

Four of those five games are against the Phoenix Suns and Clippers, a home-and-away series with each. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Thunder come back to New Orleans on March 26. Top four status may be out of reach by then but stack up wins in the Smoothie King Center and the Pelicans will still get a week off by avoiding the NBA Play-In Tournament.

(All records through January 31.)

Zion Williamson chasing second-tier status, a chance to rest and scout

Zion Williamson looks to take the Pelicans to a new level after elevating his body art with a new chest tattoo.

Zion Williamson has never experienced an NBA Playoffs atmosphere as a player on the court. Willie Green has never been afforded a week to scout a playoff opponent. Considering Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla recently gave away a detailed scouting report on the Pelicans, it's clear to see they need some adjustments to play their way into at least a top-six seed. Green's predictable rotations were recently called by NBA champion Brian Scalabrine.

Four teams are battling for the fifth and sixth seeds. The Pelicans are in eighth, looking up at the Sacramento Kings (27-18), Phoenix Suns (27-20), and Dallas Mavericks (26-21). However, there are a few factors in their favor. New Orleans won the season series over Sacramento and split four games against Dallas. It also helps that the Suns (2nd), Kings (6th), and Mavericks (15th) are all facing far tougher schedules.

As for head-to-head battles, New Orleans hosts Phoenix on April Fools Day. They then have mid-April dates with the Suns and Kings on the last road trip of the regular season. Those games will not matter as much if the Pelicans take care of business against lottery teams. Unfortunately, Green's group has squandered away 16 double-digit leads this season. Winning just half of those games would have New Orleans sitting in first place, not fighting for the last playoff spot, but this team cannot afford to dwell on past mistakes.

NBA Play-In Tournament Survivor Series Slugfest

The lines of demarcation between the tiers are pretty clear. Three games separate fourth and fifth place creating space between those tiers. The ninth-placed Los Angeles Lakers are three games behind the Pelicans in eighth. Assuming the injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies cannot close the gap, four teams are aiming for the final two postseason spots. New Orleans knows this path well and will try to avoid it at all costs. Starters will not rest down the stretch while the team is at risk of finishing lower than sixth.

The Play-In Tournament is more akin to March Madness than a conference finals game seven. But forget a seven-game series, two of the following teams will be watching every postseason game from home. The Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Golden State Warriors, and Houston Rockets are all fighting for the last two spots assuming the Pelicans, Kings, Mavericks, and Suns finish above eighth place.

Facing Steph Curry or Lebron James in an elimination game is a daunting task regardless of location. The upstart Jazz are surprisingly competitive and have defeated the Pelicans twice already. Houston is reportedly changing their slow-but-steady approach in pursuit of a playoff appearance this season. Going into a coin-flip contest with any of those squads is a sucker's bet best avoided by a young, unproven Pelicans locker room.

Fans in New Orleans also have every reason to be nervous about the team's fate. They've suffered too long, and seen too many wasted chances, plus the Western Conference is shaping up to be as competitive as ever. It's a survivor series slugfest from here on out. Even though they are at the bottom of the second tier now, the Pelicans have every reason to believe they have the talent to make a run up the standings ladder and be competitive against anyone in a seven-game series.