Predicting the Thunder’s Final Four Games of the Season
Feb 6, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward
Anthony Davis(23) and New Orleans Pelicans guard
Tyreke Evans(1) celebrate after the game winning shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Pelicans have four remaining games on their schedule:
- Friday, April 10 vs. the Phoenix Suns
- Sunday, April 12 at the Houston Rockets
- Monday, April 13 at the Minnesota Timberwolves
- Wednesday, April 15 vs. the San Antonio Spurs
The Phoenix Suns are out of the playoff race, barring an unexpected win streak and a catastrophic collapse by OKC and the Pelicans. They’ll likely be struggling just to get through the end of the season and have players nursing various injuries. This would seem to be a win for the Pelicans, especially playing at New Orleans.
The Rockets have been playing exceptionally well of late, despite their injury concerns, mostly due to the play of MVP-candidate James Harden and the return of Dwight Howard. With that in mind – and with Houston playing at home and for playoff seeding in the Western Conference playoffs – the Pelicans will drop this one.
Monday’s game against the hapless Wolves might be the most important game of the season for both New Orleans and Oklahoma City. On the surface, this looks like an easy win for Anthony Davis’ squad. But on the second night of a back-to-back set and playing in front of the Minnesota crowd, the Wolves could pull off a huge upset. And that’ll be the key, considering the Pelicans end their season against the hottest team in the league, the San Antonio Spurs.
As the last game of the season, most teams would typically rest their players, something Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich has done frequently. But the Spurs are playing for seeding as well and could have their full roster intact.
Either one of these last two games could go in New Orleans’ favor. So what’s the final prediction?
The Pelicans will drop the last two games of the season and watch as the Thunder inexplicably claw their way through one of the worst seasons in franchise history and make the playoffs this year.