Season can go either direction for Pelicans entering final playoff push

NEW ORLEANS — Four weeks.

Fifteen games.

That’s what’s left of the marathon NBA season for the New Orleans Pelicans. Their performance during that stretch run will determine whether they return to the post-season for the first time since 2015 or fade into the draft lottery, raising all sorts of questions about the future of the team and organization as they are presently constituted.

The Pelicans have won 11 of their last 13 games, giving them a small margin for error the rest of the way. But the remarkably tight race in the Western Conference has made it virtually impossible for anyone except the Rockets and the Warriors to create any comfort zone.

Only 4 1/2 games separate third-place Portland and 10th-place Denver and only the top eight teams get into the playoffs.

Last year a .500 record was good enough for Portland to claim the final playoff spot, but this year New Orleans sits at 39-28, knowing it still has a lot of work to do if it’s going to claim one of those eight spots.

The Pelicans, who visit San Antonio on Thursday before beginning a stretch of five home games in six days when they host the Rockets on Saturday, play nine of their last 15 games in the Smoothie King Center.

But typical of a team for which nothing has come easily, the Pelicans have a better road record (21-14) than home record (18-14).

Additionally, only four of the remaining games are against teams that are not fighting for playoff positioning — the Mavericks, Lakers, Grizzlies and Suns.

In addition to the Spurs and the Rockets, both of whom the Pelicans face once at home and once on the road, the remaining opponents preparing to play beyond mid-April are the Celtics, Pacers, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Thunder, Warriors and Clippers.

The Pelicans’ performance during these next four weeks will not only determine whether they make the playoffs and what their position will be of they do, it will also give us an indication of how they’re likely to fare if they reach the post-season.

The stakes are very high in each of the remaining games and most of the games are against teams of comparable quality to any potential playoff opponents. So how well New Orleans competes under these conditions will not only determine whether it’s worthy of a playoff spot and whether it’s likely to thrive if he gets a spot.

The Pelicans will begin their four-week push in a tie with Minnesota for fifth place, just a half-game behind Oklahoma City for the fourth and final spot that earns home-court advantage in the first round.

On the flip side, they have just a 1 1/2-game lead on the Clippers, Jazz and Spurs, who are tied for seventh, eighth and ninth spots.

Though the final standings will determine whether New Orleans gets to compete in the post-season and from what position if it does, we’ll know what we need to know about this team before the playoffs begin.

If the Pelicans can snare one of the playoff spots in this ultra-competitive conference, they will have demonstrated that they’re heading in the right direction — even if their post-season stay is brief.

And if they are unable to hang on to a playoff spot after putting themselves in the position they’re in with four weeks to go, then they will have demonstrated that there’s much work to be done in the off-season.