On March 25, Beijing time, with the Pelicans beating the Bulls 126-109, the team's record of 31 wins and 42 losses rose back to the ninth place in the West, the Lakers fell to the tenth place in the West, and the Spurs only trailed the Lakers by 2 wins. The Timberwolves, seventh in the West, and Clippers, eighth in the West, have a high probability of winning a playoff spot, and the Timberwolves even have the opportunity to impact sixth in the West to directly enter the playoffs. The remaining Western Conference play-offs are currently in a 3-2 situation. The Lakers, Pelicans and Spurs will be fighting fiercely for the rest of the game.
The Lakers need to be careful, and the current situation of the Lakers is very unfavorable. The Pelicans are back in form, winning 3 of their last 4 games. Moreover, the Pelicans have had a better overall record than the Lakers since the end of November last year. Although the Spurs are 2 wins behind the Lakers, the Spurs have a more favorable schedule and have won two consecutive wins, while the Lakers have not won a winning streak for more than 2 months.
The Pelicans started the season with a dismal 3-16, but the team then went on a 28-26 record (starting November 25, 2021) with a 51.9% win rate. Keep in mind that Zion has been absent from the game, while Ingram has missed 23 games. The Pelicans have performed better than the Lakers in difficult situations.
During the same period, the Lakers recorded 22 wins and 32 losses, with a winning percentage of only 40.7%. The Pelicans have already played the Lakers once on Feb. 28, with the Pelicans winning 123-95. Although James scored 32 points and 6 rebounds in that game, the team still lost.
Pelicans guard McCollum had 22 points, five rebounds and eight assists. Valanciunas had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ingram had 19 points and eight assists.
The Pelicans will play the Lakers twice on March 28 and April 2, both of which will have a significant impact on the play-off spot race. Ingram recently missed due to a hamstring injury, but mcCollum played very steadily after joining the Pelicans. He played in 16 games for the Pelicans, averaging 26.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, all four of which were better than his performances at the Blazers this season — 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 43.6 percent shooting.
Another Pelicans big player, Valanciunas, is also in excellent form, having played double-doubles in six consecutive games, averaging 18.6 points and 11.2 rebounds in March and shooting 55.2 percent from the field. You know, the Lakers are now more jealous of playing against teams with big centers, and if Vogel uses a five-small lineup, it will be blown up by Valanciunas. Fortunately, Vogel has changed, and now when he meets a team with a big center, he will use Howard to start. However, Howard didn't play long, and sometimes the Lakers still used a small lineup.
The two games between the Pelicans and the Lakers are crucial, but the Lakers are not optimistic from the performance of the head-to-head team this season and the performance against the big center team.
If the Lakers are overpowered by the Pelicans and the Spurs rise at the end of the season, the Lakers' play-off spot is in jeopardy. The Spurs have been in good shape recently, with two straight wins and a relatively favorable schedule.
The Spurs have 9 games left, 4 home games and 5 away games, with 4 opponents winning less than 50% (including 1 pelican). The Lakers have nine games remaining, three home games and five away games, with 3 opponents under 50 percent (including two pelicans). In fact, the Lakers have 9 games left, and only April 9 is relatively easy to play the Thunder at home.
Lakers coach Vogel has said several times recently that the team will win two playoffs to advance to the playoffs, but he now needs to worry about qualifying for the playoffs.