NBA
Are the Pelicans eliminated if they lose against the Kings in the play-in game?
New Orleans lost their opening Play-In game to the Lakers, who take the first playoff berth and now are up against it to extend their season.
The Pelicans have a reprieve to extend their season by securing one of the two playoff berths up for grabs in the 2024 NBA Play-In tournament which reaches its conclusion tonight. Willie Green’s men lost their opening game to the Lakers 106-110 and now have a second chance to go into the postseason in this evening’s Round 2 matchup against the Sacramento Kings at Smoothie King Center. The Kings, who finished the regular season ninth in the Western Conference, head into the game after eliminating Steph Curry’s Warriors.
Pelicans with a second chance
So how come the Pelicans have a second chance? The teams with the seventh-highest and eighth-highest winning percentages in each conference will have two opportunities to win one game to earn a spot in the playoffs (which start 20 April and conclude 23 June). While the teams with the ninth-highest and 10th-highest winning percentages in each conference must win two consecutive games to earn a playoff spot. New Orleans ended the regular phase in eighth which is why they have a chance to redeem themselves.
In tonight’s Round 2 matchup, the Pelicans face the Kings while in the Eastern Conference over at the Kaseya Center, the Miami Heat will be up against the Chicago Bulls. The winners from both games will head into the playoffs while for the losers, the season will be over. That means that only a win will do for Green’s Pelicans, who have beaten the Kings three times recently - twice in the league as well as in the In-Season Tournament quarter finals at the start of December. They must beat the Kings tonight to keep their season alive.
The only problem this time is that they will be without talisman Zion Williamson. Williamson is out for the next two weeks at least while he recovers from a hamstring injury. Being without their top scorer is a huge blow for New Orleans - Williamson averaged 22.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and five assists and 57% from the field in 2023-4. “Obviously, it’s a tough loss for us,” Green told the media after losing to the Lakers. The guys battle. I’m extremely proud of the group, how they fought, they hung in there, and we got back in the game by simply upping our physicality, keeping them out of our paint and being scrappy”.
The winners of tonight’s game in New Orleans will visit Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of Round 1 of the playoffs on Sunday night, while the team that emerges victorious in the Eastern Conference matchup (Bulls@Miami) will start the playoffs against the Boston Celtics.