Pelicans Odds to Make Playoffs Surprisingly High Coming Out of NBA All-Star Break

After a 6-22 start, few, if any, predicted the New Orleans Pelicans would be in the playoff hunt coming out of the NBA All-Star break. Since then, though, New Orleans has gone 17-10, thanks to improved play from emerging stars like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, plus the debut of Zion Williamson.

Pelicans Odds to Make the Playoffs

In fact, the Pelicans are only 5.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 8 seed in the West, and FanDuel Sportsbook puts New Orleans at +250 to make the postseason.

According to the odds, the likeliest outcome is still that the Pelicans are on the outside looking in come playoff time, as New Orleans is listed at -310 to miss the postseason.

But the Pelicans have to deal with much more than just the Grizzlies, as they're also behind the Portland Trail Blazers (25-31) and San Antonio Spurs (23-31). Thankfully for New Orleans, San Antonio stumbled heading into the All-Star break, posting a 3-7 record over its last 10 games.

In terms of the odds, Memphis is available at +150 to make the playoffs, Portland is listed at +175, and San Antonio (+500) is the least likely of the bunch.

Even if the odds suggest New Orleans is still somewhat of a long shot to make the playoffs, it's hard not to be impressed by what New Orleans has accomplished recently.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.