1) After the NCAA’s Final Four took place in New Orleans recently, the NBA is down to its own "final four" days of the 2021-22 regular season. Few seeds are locked up in either conference at this late stage; in the Western Conference, only the No. 1 (Phoenix), 2 (Memphis) and 8 (LA Clippers) spots are taken. New Orleans (35-44) will try to take a step toward cementing the No. 9 seed Thursday, when it hosts Portland (27-52) at 7 p.m. Tickets are available here. The team’s home finale Sunday vs. Golden State is at 8:30 p.m. and now will be televised nationally by TNT.
2) Read about the Pelicans’ in-season turnaround and three-year path to reaching the 2022 postseason.
3) Speaking of the play-in tournament, New Orleans (35-44) is assured of facing San Antonio (34-45) in the 9-10 matchup next week (date, time to be determined). What’s not settled yet is which team will host what will be an elimination game. Here’s the remaining daily schedule for the two teams (the Spurs own the tiebreaker, so a deadlock in the standings would put the 9-10 game in the AT&T Center):
Thursday
Portland at New Orleans (35-44), 7 p.m.
San Antonio (34-45) at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
Friday
No relevant games
Saturday
New Orleans at Memphis, 5 p.m. (NBA TV)
Golden State at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m. (NBA TV)
Sunday
Golden State at New Orleans, 8:30 (TNT)
San Antonio at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
4) Watch Episode 9 of “The Squad.”
5) Hall of Famer Swin Cash was the guest on Wednesday’s Pelicans Podcast.