The New Orleans Pelicans were officially eliminated from postseason play with Thursday’s loss to the Orlando Magic.
Unofficially, they were eliminated way before that.
Inconsistent play and one injury after another helped write the obituary on this season back in January. Anything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
There are only 15 games remaining heading into Saturday’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs. The Pelicans’ disappointing 18-49 record puts them on pace for just 22 wins, which would be the second worst win total in an 82-game season in franchise history.
So what’s left to play for?
“It comes down to being a pro and what you want to get out if it,” said Pelicans’ forward Zion Williamson. “We’ve talked about it as a team. The season hasn’t gone the way that we’ve wanted it to. But that doesn’t mean we can’t build into something for next year.”
Next year, the Pelicans will have Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones back. Those are two key pieces to the puzzle that executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin and general manager Bryson Graham built. Murray and Jones started the season opener, but eventually suffered season-ending injuries along the way. Their absences, along with all the other injuries the team has endured this season, gave younger players a chance to play.
Pelicans' coach Willie Green had to shuffle the deck on his starting five way more than he wanted to. The starting five Thursday against the Magic was the 35th different one. That's basically a different lineup every other game.
“This is a unique opportunity for guys who want to step up into those roles,” Green said.
Players like Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado and rookies Yves Missi and Karlo Matkovic made the most of their increased minutes. New players like Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown, both acquired in the Brandon Ingram trade, are still figuring things out as they adapt to their new team. So they know how important this final stretch of the season is.
“It’s different for every player,” Olynyk said about the motivation. “Obviously for the young guys, you want to get out here and get experience and show the organization, the franchise and the rest of the league what you can do. For an older player, you just continue to build and grow chemistry. For me, it’s trying to build inside this system and get some chemistry and cohesiveness with these guys heading into next year.”
There will come a time over the final month of the season where Green will likely decrease the playing time for some of the star players. Some will certainly be shut down once the team gets closer to the finish line. But for now?
“Our goal altogether is to continue to try to build momentum with this group," Green said. "We’ve been doing a decent job with that. We’ve had some really good games. And we’ve had some games like (Friday) where we didn’t bring it for 48 minutes. So we’re just trying to build momentum and attack the games.”
Unfortunately for the Pelicans and their fans, there have been far more bad games than good ones. One season after having the second-most wins in franchise history, the Pelicans are heading towards one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
The main thing Green wants to see is consistency. He was pleased with what he saw Tuesday in a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, but then frustrated two nights later in the lop-sided loss to the Magic.
There have been far too many games when the effort just wasn’t there, a big reason the Pelicans have lost 13 games by 20-points or more and four by 30 points or more. Those type losses can be demoralizing, especially once the postseason hopes are dashed. Murphy says the mindset remains the same for the final few weeks of the season.
“One day at a time, one foot in front of the other,” Murphy said. “Just try to play for a reason. You want to go out there and win games. We’re not out there trying to lose. We are trying to win games and put out a good product.”
Players want to do that for themselves.
And they want to do it for the team as they try to build momentum going into the 2025-’26 season.
“Sometimes you’re playing for a contract,” Olynyk said. “Sometimes you’re playing because you love the game of basketball. So there is a lot of stuff to play for. Every individual has different reasons. Collectively as a team, you want to build good habits and build that connection and cohesiveness and something that you can roll into the next season. Eventually, the record is going to be 0-0 and that’s when you’ve got to be ready.”