The New Orleans Pelicans lost 113-93 to the Orlando Magic on Thursday night to officially get eliminated from NBA Playoff contention at the Smoothie King Center. Pelicans head coach Willie Green kept his comments brief after the loss.
"They kicked our butts," Green said. "We're soft."
When "Inside The NBA" co-host Adam Lefkoe mentioned the fact the Pelicans were eliminated, the co-stars of the show shared a good laugh.
"The Pelicans?" Shaquille O'Neal asked.
"Yeah, the Pelicans," Lefkoe responded.
"In March?" Kenny Smith asked.
Then, the entire panel laughed in unison.
"Where they going, Chuck?" O'Neal asked co-star Charles Barkley in-between his laughter. "Mississippi?"
"Whew, Lord, they're eliminated," Barkley said to Lefkoe. "Boy, you're Captain Obvious. When you can win the rest of your games and not make the playoffs in March – is that the only team eliminated from the playoffs?"
The Utah Jazz are also eliminated from the playoffs.
"In March?!"
The Fellas learned the Pelicans had been eliminated from playoff contention 😅😭 pic.twitter.com/k9vztU3bLa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) March 14, 2025
The Mississippi question O'Neal asked Barkley was a reference from the Pelicans falling behind 0-3 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2024 NBA Playoffs, and Barkley said the Pelicans didn't compete enough in the series to go to Cancun for vacation, but instead the "dirty a-- water" in Galveston, Texas.
The 18-49 Pelicans previously said the goal for the rest of the season is to compete and get ready for a productive offseason for a better 2025-26 season.
This is the second time this week the Pelicans have been called out on TNT. On Tuesday night, after star forward Zion Williamson earned the second triple-double of his career within the span of two weeks, O'Neal said he wanted more from the 2019 No.1 overall pick. He said the team's record was also unacceptable with him being the franchise player.