The New Orleans Pelicans‘ social media team is on a roll and has every reason for it. The Pelicans entered tonight’s game with a low chance of making it to the playoffs. They lost Zion Williamson to a hamstring injury a few days ago and faced the foxy Sacramento Kings in a play-in elimination game. However, with confidence through their 4-0 season record against the Kings, the Pelicans clinched a 105-98 win, boosting them to the first round.

With just the 2nd playoff appearance in last 6 years, the Pelicans made sure to leave a mark on Draymond Green‘s bite, citing, “Without Zion, I think the Kings should win that pretty easily“. The franchise, who seems to applaud their defensive player Herbert Jones’ clamps through their profile picture, simply put up an image of Jones confusingly staring at Green.

Just a little while ago, the Pelicans put on another hilarious response, involving none-other-than Shaquille O’Neal. In his opinion on Pelicans’ chances after Zion’s injury, O’Neal stated, “Y’all ain’t got Zion. Y’all are cooked.“ To that, the Pelicans’ page on X simply put up a photoshopped image of Brandon Ingram with a BBQ grill as response.

The 2023-24 season marks the Pelicans 9th playoff entry in 22 years of history. They have only managed to set past the first round twice (2008 and 2018).  With that, as they now face the Oklahoma City Thunder (1st seed) in the first round, there is a huge possibility that they could end their season near May.

Pelicans record vs Oklahoma City Thunder this season

The Pelicans have tasted victory against the Thunder this season (1-2). However, the only instance came in November. The Thunder were not exactly a top-heavy team back then, as their youngsters were still still building on-court chemistry. It was one of their worst defensive months. They were recording their season low in blocked shots, learning to protect the ball and heavily relying on driving lanes.

Since then the Thunder have developed a slight advantage on defensive end, and balanced their shooting areas on the floor. They shoot a little over 50% vs the Pelicans in the last two game, while the Pels shot 41%.

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Additionally, the Pelicans worst lost to OKC came in a game without Zion. The 107-83 blowout exposed their struggles around the rim, and also disabled them of seeing the free throw line as much as they usually do.

With that, the Pelicans most important factor relies around their shooting. They will need to strike an efficient balance between CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram, with timely additions from Trey and Herb. Moreover, if Herb and Alvarado manage to pester OKC’s backcourt, it could help the Pelicans’ big-men utilize themselves in closing the gaps on the stat sheet.