Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A New Orleans basketball team has a vital game on its upcoming schedule, needing to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in order to achieve a primary goal. During the NBA regular season, the Pelicans managed to defeat the purple and gold three times between Feb. 27 and April 1, propelling them to a play-in berth and eventual Western Conference playoff spot.
Sure, the stakes will not be nearly as high late Friday evening when the summer Pelicans face the Lakers (10 p.m. Central, ESPN2), but don’t tell that to the 10-ish New Orleans young players who’ll be in uniform. A victory over L.A. is mandatory in order to have a chance to qualify for Sunday’s NBA Summer League title game, a round the summer Pels have never reached in the eight previous years a champion was crowned.
Given that point differential is the first multi-team tiebreaker in summer league, a 17-point loss to Portland in New Orleans’ opener seemingly extinguished any realistic chance the Pelicans had of placing in the top two of the standings and playing in the title game. However, since then New Orleans (2-1) has relied on a prolific offense to manhandle Atlanta by 28 points, then pull away from Washington for an 18-point victory. The blowout wins occurred despite 2022 draftees Dyson Daniels (ankle), E.J. Liddell (knee) and Karlo Matkovic (hand) all being sidelined by injuries. Point guard Jared Harper (16.7 ppg), sharpshooter Deividas Sirvydis (14.0) and versatile Daeqwon Plowden (11.3) have each averaged double-digit scoring over multiple appearances, while center Tyrique Jones is averaging 9.0 rebounds (including 5.3 on the offensive boards).
Day 9 Summer League Report with Jim and Erin | Pelicans Summer League
The Pelicans – who entered Thursday’s action officially in second place out of 30 teams – have also benefited from the unlikely development that no club remained undefeated through three games (in 2021, New Orleans went 5-0 but still did not reach the title round). A total of 17 teams are atop the standings with 2-1 records, but NOLA’s pair of one-sided wins vaulted it up the ladder. Here is the current top 10 of the standings (beyond this listed group, it’s unlikely that the Pelicans could win Friday and still be caught in point differential; even the 10th-place Thunder trail by 22 in that category):
1, New York 2-1, +34 point differential
2, New Orleans 2-1, +29
3, Memphis 2-1, +25
4, Portland 2-1, +25
5, Phoenix 2-1, +22
6, Indiana 2-1, +19
7, Toronto 2-1, +16
8, Milwaukee 2-1, +14
9, Orlando 2-1, +13
10, Oklahoma City 2-1, +7
Since the Pelicans play the final game of Friday’s seven-game summer league slate, they should tip off their matchup with the Lakers knowing exactly how many points they must win by in order to qualify for Sunday’s championship. It’s possible, though not likely, that New Orleans will merely need to just win, but that would require a ton of help on the scoreboard in games involving teams such as Memphis (faces Boston on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CT), Portland (vs. Houston on Thursday at 8:30), Phoenix (vs. Sacramento on Friday at 7) and Indiana (vs. Washington on Friday at 8).
The NBA announced last week that for the first time, championship rings will be given to the squad that captures the 2022 summer league crown. That’s potential incentive for teams like New Orleans that still have a shot to win it all, but for a Pelicans squad now comprised of numerous players trying to earn a job in the NBA or establish themselves at this level, there’s other motivation: Sunday’s title game is one of the biggest stages the league provides for pros trying to gain the attention of scouts and front offices.