Pelicans can turn season around in 4 weeks thanks to the next 14 games

[SonOfNOLA]

Except for matchups against Houston, Golden State, Portland, and LA Clippers, 10 of the Pelicans’ next 14 games are against teams that are all currently below .500

12/26 - @ Dallas (15-17)
12/28 - vs Dallas (15-17)
12/29 - vs Houston (18-15)
12/31 - vs Minnesota (15-18)
1/2 - @ Brooklyn (16-19)
1/5 - @ Cleveland (8-26)
1/7 - vs Memphis (17-16)
1/9 - vs Cleveland (8-26)
1/12 - @ Minnesota (15-18)
1/14 - @ LA Clippers (19-14)
1/16 - @ Golden State (23-12)
1/18 - @ Portland (19-14)
1/21 - @ Memphis (17-16)
1/23 - vs Detroit (15-16)

On top of playing against mostly sub-.500 teams, the Pelicans face 4 of those teams twice (Dallas, Minnesota, Cleveland, and Memphis). Houston, Portland, and LA Clippers are always close games so I think they can possible come away with two of those three games as momentum is built from the lesser teams

The last game against Sacramento showed Pels can dominate teams that they’re suppose to but they couldn’t close out and eventually squandered the big lead away. The Pelicans are more than capable of winning all of those sub-.500 matchups. They just have to show heart and wanna win. Facing off against Dallas is the perfect way to begin the stretch. Getting Mirotic back from injury soon should help those wins against the sub-.500 teams roll in a lot easier. If the team can win most of the next 14 games, Pelicans can be anywhere between 24-24 and 27-21 and sitting at the 8th seed again. Of course, we haven’t seen anything from the Pelicans to believe they can start a win streak all of a sudden. But the upcoming matchups are favorable, in both record and location pattern.

It’s really important for the Pelicans to start streaking now against these sub-.500 and barely above .500 teams. Teams ahead in the standings can distance themselves if Pelicans don’t start a win streak(s) here. This is the least difficult portion of the schedule. These 14 games can decide the flow of the rest of the season. Momentum from these 14 games will go a long way immediately after 1/23 against the current top 5 seeds of both conferences regularly from that point when the schedule becomes difficult. Wins piled up from this 14 game stretch can silence AD trade talk distractions, gain a lot of confidence and make the Pelicans look like a playoff team again. Or more losses, from sub-.500 teams , adding on to the L column in the 15-19 record will make the team locker room morale spin out of control and force the Pelicans to trade Anthony Davis asap before the 14 game stretch is over

[Pelicanidae]

I think you're right. As much as teams always take some unexpected losses here and there, and we haven't been playing at our best, now is the best time for us to take advantage of the schedule and really rack up some wins. Looking at the list of the upcoming games, I could see us going something 9-5, which would bring us to 24-24 in the standings. That doesn't sound like much, since it's barely .500, but it would be a sign of a more dedicated team that's figuring out how to actually put wins on the board, and of course being at .500 is always better than being below it.

You're right as well with momentum. It's especially important because this upcoming month is the last full one before the all-star break, and also the last full month before the trading deadline. If we want to shush the trade rumours and establish ourselves as a real team again, now is the best time to do it: if we go 9-5 or 10-4 across this time period, then cap it off with AD appearing at the all-star game and us potentially making a trade to improve the team, then suddenly the Pelicans in March get an entirely different style of media attention than we got in November and December.

The first 8 games of those 14 are all entirely winnable. Even against teams like Houston, who have been up and down, and Minnesota who have been the same. If we go 5-3 or better across those 8 games, that's a good sign.

Also: it shouldn't be just Mirotic coming back off injury soon. Payton should be back soon too, which will really help us on our mission to decrease turnovers and increase scoring in the paint, including breaking down defenses off the drive.

[Creative]

Yeah Man and 8 of them are on the road where We are TERRIBLE (4-14). This season can be also officially over after those 14 games.

[Pelicanidae]

Yeah Man and 8 of them are on the road where We are TERRIBLE (4-14). This season can be also officially over after those 14 games.

It's a very important section of the schedule. It's part of why I said I won't panic until January 7th. By then, we could be 22-19, or 15-26. Huge difference, and we'll be playing mostly healthy for those games so it's a genuine reflection.

[carpo]

we lose regularly against sub 500 teams though

[Pelicanidae]

we lose regularly against sub 500 teams though

Doesn't stop them from being our best shot at a win.

[soggymoss]

Payton should be coming back around the time we play Cleveland and Memphis at home, hopefully Niko comes back tonight or Friday.. We need to start piling up some wins, and I think this team is capable of it, they just need to stay focused a whole 48 minutes and not 36

[Rel11]

At this point, I don’t think we can even top last year’s win total.

[AstroFire]

0-1 so far