During the relatively quiet NBA month of August, coaches and players sometimes glance through the just-released 82-game schedule, making note of dates and opponents that may be of particular significance. When New Orleans Pelicans fifth-year head coach Monty Williams first saw a copy of his team’s 2014-15 docket, an April 15 finale vs. San Antonio seemed like it might loom large.
“Looking at the schedule,” Williams said Tuesday, “it was like, ‘That game’s going to mean something.’ ”
Williams’ gut feeling from eight months ago proved to be exceptionally prophetic.
New Orleans (44-37) will play its most consequential game in years Wednesday, when it hosts San Antonio (55-26) at 7 p.m. in the Smoothie King Center. A win would clinch a berth in the Western Conference playoffs for the Pelicans, for the first time since 2011. A loss would end New Orleans’ season, unless Oklahoma City (44-37) suffers an upset defeat at Minnesota (16-65) on Wednesday.
“I didn’t know it would end up like this, but we thought this game would be important,” Williams said, remembering back to the NBA’s Aug. 13 schedule release. “It just so happens to be OKC is in the equation (competing with NOLA for the eighth playoff spot).”
Seven Pelicans players are seeking their first NBA postseason appearance, including two-time All-Star forward Anthony Davis, seventh-year guard Eric Gordon and sixth-year guard Tyreke Evans, making Wednesday a chance to post a landmark win both team-wise and individually. Williams said his players understand what’s at stake Wednesday vs. the Spurs, who need a win to clinch the Southwest Division title. The Pelicans have already made a 10-win improvement and guaranteed themselves a winning record – after going 21-45, 27-55 and 34-48 the previous three seasons – but would gain invaluable experience from competing in the NBA playoffs.
“The players were all talking about it: It’s what you dream about as a young player, to be in a game like this,” Williams said of the make-or-break nature of Wednesday. “From where our program has come from, it’s an awesome opportunity. Our fans get a chance to be a part of it. We get to do it on our home floor.
“We looked at it back in the summer. It was like, ‘That game’s going to mean something.’ You didn’t know, but you looked at it like, ‘Oh my goodness – that game’s going to be big.’ ”
San Antonio is the NBA’s hottest team, winners of 11 consecutive games (the next-best active streak is the Clippers’ six in a row). However, New Orleans owns a 2-1 advantage in the season series, coming within a fingernail of winning all three games. The Spurs’ lone victory over the Pelicans came in overtime on New Year’s Eve, by a 95-93 margin. Just to get to OT, San Antonio needed a bizarre tip-in play at the fourth-quarter buzzer, in which Pelicans center Omer Asik and Hall of Fame-bound Spurs forward Tim Duncan each got a piece of the ball and deflected it into the basket off an inbounds pass.
Despite NOLA’s head-to-head success vs. San Antonio, the three prior games may not mean much, because both teams are dramatically altered in some fashion. The Spurs were just 20-14 on Jan. 1, but have gone a red-hot 35-12 since. The Pelicans were 16-16 when the calendar flipped to 2015, but made major improvements after acquiring starting small forward Quincy Pondexter in January, as well as reserve point guard Norris Cole at the February trade deadline.
“Both teams are different. They have different guys in their lineup; we have different players we’ve traded for,” Williams said. “If you look at the starting lineup and rotations from that (Dec. 31) game, they’re different.”
Jrue Holiday was the Pelicans’ starting point guard on New Year’s Eve and had 13 points and nine assists in 39 minutes, but a leg injury sidelined him Jan. 12. Having returned from injury for just two games, Holiday won’t come close to approaching that minute count, with New Orleans limiting him to roughly 15 a night. He was held out of Monday’s second game of a back-to-back at Minnesota as a precautionary measure, but will be available Wednesday vs. San Antonio.
“He’ll be ready to play tomorrow,” Williams said Tuesday. “He’s rested and still on a minute restriction, but he should be ready to play, unless something happens between today and tomorrow.”
The Pelicans again dealt with an array of key injuries this season – including missing Holiday for 41 games – but now have one final chance to reach the playoffs. They’ll have to do so against the NBA’s defending champions, a veteran squad playing as well as anyone. Williams pointed out that in a way, the circumstances are fitting for a Pelicans team that’s had to scratch and claw for everything in 2014-15.
“You can’t get there in an easy way,” Williams said. “You can’t skip steps. I’ve been saying that forever. It’s just part of the deal. It’s just life. … If our guys succeed tomorrow in front of our fans, I think that will give me an unspeakable joy that you can’t describe – you just feel it. We knew this was the year we wanted to have a winning record and go to the playoffs. We have a shot."