Portland Trail Blazers: Looking at the West playoff contenders in a different light
New Orleans Pelicans
- Record: 29–39, 2.5 games back of eight, 2.0 games out of ninth.
- Future Opponents: Washington, San Antonio, Sacramento, and Orlando.
- Opponents combined winning percentage: .419
- Opponents combined bubble winning percentage: .313
- Pressure factor: 5. Washington is out of contention (0 points), San Antonio and Sacramento are in the mix with the Pelicans (2 points each), and Orlando has a chance to pass Brooklyn for seventh in the east (1)
- Schedule difficulty x intensity: (.419 x (.313 x 2) x 5 = 5.23
The Pelicans have the most manageable schedule in terms of opponents winning percentage, by a country mile. But three-quarters of the games are high stakes. Friday night against Washington is a trap game they can’t afford to lose.
To some extent, New Orleans controls their fate. They can almost knock out the Spurs and Kings with wins. To make the postseason, however, they’ll need the top two teams to fail.
Sacramento Kings
- Record: 29–39, 2.5 games back of eight, 2.0 games out of ninth.
- Future Opponents: Brooklyn, Houston, New Orleans, and L.A. Clippers.
- Opponents combined winning percentage: .551
- Opponents combined bubble winning percentage: .500
- Pressure factor: 5. The Nets, Rockets, and Clippers are all fighting for playoff positioning.
- Schedule difficulty x intensity: 7.76
On paper, the Brooklyn matchup on Friday night doesn’t look sexy, but the game is vital to both teams. It will be interesting come August 11 if both New Orleans and Sacramento are still in the hunt.
Next: Page 3 – San Antonio and Phoenix
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