Pelicans Playoff Odds Leave Room for Optimism in Play-In Tournament for New Orleans Fans

Almost three months after the league was put on hold, the NBA has announced their official plans to return to action.

The plan includes bringing 22 teams back, with a short play-in tournament determining the No. 8 seed in each conference.

The Memphis Grizzlies currently hold the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference, but the New Orleans Pelicans are knocking on the door. Their +380 odds to make the playoffs on FanDuel Sportsbook are the second-best in the conference.

This is an exciting spot to be in for a team that was supposed to be rebuilding this year, having just picked first overall in the NBA Draft after losing their best player.

Things have looked good in New Orleans since Zion Williamson made his debut and worked up to a full workload, however. Zion played at least 25 minutes in each of his last 17 games in the regular season, and the Pels put together a 10-7 record in those games, compared to an 18-29 record in the rest of their games.

They're still massive underdogs to reach the finals, with +6500 odds to win the West, but simply stealing a playoff spot away from the Grizz would be a huge win for New Orleans.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook today and get your first bet risk free for up to $500!

Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. 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.