To Playoffs or Not to Playoffs?

[MichaelMcNamara]

I get it - you always root for your team to win. But that doesnt mean you ignore the benefits of them losing. This isnt a thread to lay out which is better or worse, who is a true fan and who isnt. Just a place to list the pros of making the Playoffs and the pros if the Pelicans don't

Make the Playoffs

- Playoffs experience for guys who have none
- At least two home playoff games, leading to millions of revenue that in theory could increase future budgets
- Experience for Willie, somebody who is not great with adjustments. He will get a crash course in the playoffs
- Small, small chance Zion plays
- Perhaps increase team legitimacy around the league and/or to Zion

Lose in the Play-In

- Additional 9.41% chance at a top-4 pick. Could get that AND get the 9th pick from LA. Franchise changing.
- Retain the Bucks 2025 unprotected 1st if ours doesnt jump into the top 4. And yes, they will probably still be good but who thought the Lakers would be awful in 2022? Who could have ever predicted in 2017 or 2018 that the Warriors would get the #2 overall pick in 2020?
- A fire in the belly that comes from coming close but not making it.
- No risk of additional injury and/or mounted pressure to play Zion. Possibility of fracturing that relationship even more.


What did I miss? Again, one thing is not great and the other thing bad. Both things can help this franchise. I, personally, will be rooting for a blowout of the Spurs followed by a narrow defeat at LA. But I will have no sadness if they make the playoffs.

[Darkhorse985]

Make the playoffs. This shouldn?t even be a question for any real fan of the team at this point. Especially if Zion comes back to get a taste of the playoffs. This team could make the jump like Memphis next season, and playoff experience is valuable for young teams ready to make the jump to contender.

[AusPel]

Obvs not make it

[MichaelMcNamara]

Let me guess....you didnt read the post. You just assumed you knew what it was about and that it was a question of what we should root for and you slammed your keyboard and pressed post reply

[AusPel]

No I just think a chance at a top 4 pick trumps everything

[Taker597]

I rather beat the Spurs and lose to the Clippers.

I don't care for the whole moral victory bit. If you want legitimacy... Show up day one of the regular season with something to prove.

NBA is all about talent and match ups not parity and getting hot in the playoffs.

[Darkhorse985]

Let me guess....you didnt read the post. You just assumed you knew what it was about and that it was a question of what we should root for and you slammed your keyboard and pressed post reply

No, you are asking a question in your thread title and listing the benefits of both outcomes. My post is not out of context. I’ll take the playoff experience over 9/100 additional chance at a top 4 pick. Time to change the tanking mindset.

[Sovereign]

Yall really come into a thread and just decide not to read the first post. And then get offended when someone calls you out on not reading lmao

[mriguy]

Not making the playoffs allows us 2 top 14 picks. If we make the playoffs we lose our pick to Charlotte due to Graham trade.

[Sovereign]

Not making the playoffs allows us 2 top 14 picks. If we make the playoffs we lose our pick to Charlotte due to Graham trade.

We only keep our pick if it's top 4.

[mriguy]

You’re right I forgot about the CJ part of the trade

[DaFranchise80]

Rather beat the Spurs and then lose a close one vs LAC/MIN based on how this past season has gone.

[Darkhorse985]

Not making the playoffs allows us 2 top 14 picks. If we make the playoffs we lose our pick to Charlotte due to Graham trade.

If Zion comes back for the playoffs, I think having the full team getting playoff experience is more valuable than a 1st round pick in 2025 from a team with G.A. That’s my opinion.

[Sovereign]

Here's a pro: it's easier to sell a fanbase on a playoff team than a play-in team, especially if you have Zion to sell on top of that.

I'd prefer losing the 2nd game, but I'm fine with either outcome.

[hornetsrebirth]

I rather beat the Spurs and lose to the Clippers.

I don't care for the whole moral victory bit. If you want legitimacy... Show up day one of the regular season with something to prove.

NBA is all about talent and match ups not parity and getting hot in the playoffs.

Yeah thank you for saying this. The entire point of playing is to get to the playoffs and win. The team is doing a good job of developing a winning culture, the fan base on this board seems to be struggling a little more with it. Id rather take a 1 in 10 chance of the Pels making a deep playoff run then a 1 in 10 chance of getting a draft pick. Time to break out of this loser mindset.

[hornetsrebirth]

That reply was meant to quote someone else lol

[Silverfoxx]

Rather beat the Spurs and then lose a close one vs LAC/MIN based on how this past season has gone.

This

[KennaBrah]

This team stays healthy they can make some noise, so give me a win against Spurs and a close loss in 2nd game. The chance to get 2 first round picks and add more talent to this core, could make this team something special.

[Eman5805]

There's always the remote chance someone discovers something about their game the regular season wouldn't get to demonstrate. Or at least they'd see it more accutely.

[MichaelMcNamara]

Here's a pro: it's easier to sell a fanbase on a playoff team than a play-in team, especially if you have Zion to sell on top of that.

I'd prefer losing the 2nd game, but I'm fine with either outcome.

I think that is a good pro. You win those two play in games, and I bet you sell a good amount of season tickets for next year between Friday night and that following Friday, or whenever Game 3 would be in New Orleans.

This is a business. I think, all in all, winning Game 2 of the play in vs losing it, could net the franchise 8-10 million extra in revenue between the gate, ticket sales for next year, etc. That is nothing to sneeze at. I personally would rank that higher than "playoff experience" with regard to the biggest pro for making the playoffs.

[Taker597]

Yeah thank you for saying this. The entire point of playing is to get to the playoffs and win. The team is doing a good job of developing a winning culture, the fan base on this board seems to be struggling a little more with it. Id rather take a 1 in 10 chance of the Pels making a deep playoff run then a 1 in 10 chance of getting a draft pick. Time to break out of this loser mindset.

This isn't football. Tell me a 5-10th seed that make a deep playoff run in the past ten years.

This mindset is why we only gotten to the playoffs 3 times in the past 10 years.

Funny how you talk about a loser mentality... But your dying for a NBA participation awards and never seeing the post season again in another 4 seasons.

[13 - 3]

If we win we have to play Monty and CP3 and like players that played with us like 10 years ago? E'Twaun Moore still play for Suns?

What could have been.

[Darkhorse985]

This isn't football. Tell me a 5-10th seed that make a deep playoff run in the past ten years.

This mindset is why we only gotten to the playoffs 3 times in the past 10 years.

Funny how you talk about a loser mentality... But your dying for a NBA participation awards and never seeing the post season again in another 4 seasons.

We are debating a playoff opportunity with possibly Zion coming back for a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 4 years vs a 9/100 better chance to get a top 4 pick and a likely bottom 10 first round pick 3 years down the road. We can keep talking about tanking or actually support the team winning. Making the playoffs this year will in no way be detrimental to the Pels success in the future. It can only help the team grow. Even if we win a game or 2 against the Suns, that is something to be proud of for this team this year. It’s why the game is played. Pro: The playoffs continue the team’s culture building and maybe the national media starts changing the mindset that the Pels are a bottom feeding losing organization.

[MichaelMcNamara]

We are debating a playoff opportunity with possibly Zion coming back for a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 4 years vs a 9/100 better chance to get a top 4 pick and a likely bottom 10 first round pick 3 years down the road. We can keep talking about tanking or actually support the team winning. Making the playoffs this year will in no way be detrimental to the Pels success in the future. It can only help the team grow. Even if we win a game or 2 against the Suns, that is something to be proud of for this team this year. It’s why the game is played. Pro: The playoffs continue the team’s culture building and maybe the national media starts changing the mindset that the Pels are a bottom feeding losing organization.

Look, it is fine if you think playoff experience has value but to act as if others are dumb and don’t believe it’s that big of a factor is wrong IMO. It can’t be proven that it doesn’t, so nobody can tell you that you are crazy for wanting it so bad, but you have no proof it has this mystical value. If it did, how did a young Atlanta team get so much of it last year and come back worse? Reddish showed signs in the playoffs and got that valuable experience in big games and came back worse. Couldn’t even get regular minutes with the Knicks. I have hundreds of examples of it having no effect.

But again, that doesn’t prove that it doesn’t. Maybe it is a revelation for some guys and does nothing for others. Maybe some guys appear to evolve after playoff experience but it’s correlation not causation and they would have made the leap regardless

Either way, it is an unknown. And it’s fine to prefer an unknown over a 10%, over a draft pick years out. But it’s not a no brainer. Others aren’t losers or fake fans or dummies if they don’t agree. There are good points on both sides

[Taker597]

We are debating a playoff opportunity with possibly Zion coming back for a team that hasn?t been to the playoffs in 4 years vs a 9/100 better chance to get a top 4 pick and a likely bottom 10 first round pick 3 years down the road. We can keep talking about tanking or actually support the team winning. Making the playoffs this year will in no way be detrimental to the Pels success in the future. It can only help the team grow. Even if we win a game or 2 against the Suns, that is something to be proud of for this team this year. It?s why the game is played. Pro: The playoffs continue the team?s culture building and maybe the national media starts changing the mindset that the Pels are a bottom feeding losing organization.

Zion coming back...

From missing a whole season from injury and never played in the playoffs.

What can you possibly gain from that other than mental real estate? Nothing.

You knowhy Pelicans are look at as a bottom feeder. Because everytime it's December. We are 3-16 or 6-22 or 6-18

Getting into the playoffs doesn't change that.

GSW didn't click because of playoff experience. They click because of internal growth into a historic squadd and maybe getting rid of an insane head coach.