After a loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday paired with a win by the Portland Trail Blazers, the New Orleans Pelicans have been officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The New Orleans Pelicans entered play in the bubble as one of the three teams in the Western Conference sitting 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the race for the eighth seed along with the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings. The San Antonio Spurs entered four games back and the Phoenix Suns, the surprise team inside the bubble, were six games back at the start of play in the bubble.
Inside the bubble, though, the Pelicans have struggled mightily. A loss to the Utah Jazz on opening night in which New Orleans led for much of the game before falling set the tone for the rest of the games at Disney’s World Wide of Sports Complex.
A timely win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the third game inside the bubble was huge in the Pelicans’ continued playoff push but it was followed up with a listless performance against Sacramento. Sunday served as the dagger for New Orleans with their loss to the Spurs.
The Pelicans will have two final games inside the NBA’s bubble, against Sacramento on Tuesday and against the Magic on Thursday.
