Can Zion Williamson Propel Pelicans To The Playoffs?

The New Orleans Pelicans got their star into the lineup this week as Zion Williamson, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, finally made his debut. While there was plenty of hype for his return, he matched it with a couple of solid performances so far. That’s gotten people wondering if the Pelicans have an outside shot to make the playoffs. The Pelicans playoff odds still show that they’re likely to miss but can Williamson get them into the top eight?

WILL THE NEW ORLEANS PELICANS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

MAKE PLAYOFFS +290
MISS PLAYOFFS -350

WILLIAMSON HAS SUCCESSFUL DEBUT

Williamson had an impressive debut versus the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday as he scored 22 point with seven rebounds, four three-pointers and three assists in 18 minutes. What was most impressive about his first outing was the fact that he caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 straight points for the Pelicans. He also made four three-pointers, which is notable because he never made more than three in any game at Duke.

On Friday, Williamson followed up his opening effort by going seven-of-nine from the field with 15 points, six rebounds, one block and one steal in 21 minutes against the Denver Nuggets. It’s quite clear that the Pelicans are still easing him into action as he’s play maybe 60% of the minutes that they’d like him to be at. At the same time, they want to ease him into the action because his health is the No. 1 priority for the franchise.

CAN PELICANS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS?

While the Western Conference was supposed to be really tough from top to bottom, the truth is the bottom half of the conference is not holding their weight. The top four teams in the conference have 31 wins or more, the next three have 28 or more, but the No. 8 seed is currently the Memphis Grizzlies, who are just 21-24. That means that the race for the No. 8 seed in the conference is up for grabs and the Pelicans will have a shot at it.

New Orleans is currently at 17-29, which puts them 4.5 games back on the Grizzlies. Keep in mind that they still have three games left with Memphis this season, including when they visit New Orleans next Friday.

The challenge for the Pelicans is that while Williamson has impressed on the court, it has yet to turn into team success. The Pelicans hosted the Spurs and Nuggets this week and even with Williamson back, they lost both contests. A big issue for the Pelicans is that they’re a terrible defensive team, allowing 117.6 points per game (second-most in the NBA). They’re allowing opponents to shoot 46.6% from the field (22nd in the NBA) and 36.5% from three (22nd in the NBA), which isn’t very good. They also struggle to play defense without fouling as they put their opponents on the line 25.4 times per game (26th in the NBA).

Unless they can turn those defensive numbers around, they’re not likely to close the gap on the Grizzlies and make the playoffs.

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