On April 14, Beijing time, the Pelicans defeated the Spurs in the play-offs, and although the Pelicans' fate was to be determined, this victory brought the Pelicans one step closer to the playoffs. According to the rules, the winner of the 9th/10th division will need to play against the loser of the 7th/8th division against the winner, who will lock in the 8th place in the division and playoff first round against the 1st division.
Now, with the Pelicans beating the Spurs and the 7/8 loser in the West being the Clippers, the two sides will face off in a playoff matchup. If you win, you can advance to the playoffs, and if you lose, you will be eliminated. A winner or loser adds a lot of variables to this showdown. For both sides, it's the last hope of qualifying to the playoffs. This season, the NBA has played 82 games in the regular season, but the playoffs are still retained, which has led to a huge controversy in the playoffs. However, this is a rule set before the start of the season and is fair to every team.
The beauty of the playoffs is that they can provide some teams with the opportunity to advance to the playoffs. For example, in the Western Play-offs, the Timberwolves, Clippers, Pelicans and Spurs are four teams, and the gap in record is somewhat large. The Clippers and Pelicans are about to play a six-game drawdown between the two teams. If there were no playoffs, the Pelicans would have missed the playoffs. Now, the Pelicans beat the Spurs to secure the right to compete with the Clippers for 8th place in the West, which instantly filled the playoffs.
McCollum's importance in being able to beat the Spurs in the play-offs is self-evident. In this campaign, McCollum scored 32 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, and his plus-minus was also excellent, with plus-minus +16 ranking first in the game. McCollum played well, Ingram and Valanciunas did not let go, Ingram cut 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Valanciunas cut 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. The Pelican's trident made Popovich powerless to return to the sky, and the Spurs could only accept the reality of being eliminated in the end.
At the start of the season, the Pelicans didn't fare well. The Pelicans started the season with a 1-12 win rate of just 7.69 percent, once at the bottom of the West. Although Zion was unable to make a comeback, the Pelicans traded from the Blazers to McCollum in the mid-to-late season. After joining the Pelicans, McCollum played a highlight performance, averaging career-high points, rebounds, assists, steals and shooting percentages per game, averaging 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 49.3% from the field.
No one expected that the Pelicans, who started with 1 win and 12 losses at the beginning of the season, are now expected to advance to the playoffs. It's been a wonderful journey, and Ingram bluntly says he's lucky. Speaking at the post-game press conference against the Spurs, Ingram said: "I love the atmosphere at home, it's exciting, it turns out that our home stadium can accommodate so many people. We won 1-12 at the beginning of the season and now have the chance to make the playoffs, which is really a blessing! ”
Now, the Pelicans are making final preparations to see if they can go down to the next city and beat the Clippers to advance to the playoffs. If the Pelicans qualify, it will show the charm of the playoffs. Even if the Pelicans miss this opportunity, the Pelicans will have no regrets. After all, it would have been a blessing to have the chance to compete with the Clippers for no. 8th place in the West. In a brutal format that determines the winner and loser, the Pelicans and Clippers will not have reservations, which team do you think will advance to the playoffs? Feel free to leave your thoughts!