Today’s edition of HeatCheck features a repeat from the preseason HeatChecks and a team that most wouldn’t have expected to implode at this point in the season.
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| Team | Season Record | Previous Week’s Record |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 9-8 | 3-1 |
| With a 4-1 record over the past week to compliment the previous week’s 3-1 record, the Washington Wizards nearly held down this spot for a second consecutive week. However, three straight road wins following a close home loss was enough to vault the New Orleans Pelicans to “On Fire” status in this week’s HeatCheck. You may recall that I last wrote about the Pelicans back in October for the first ever preseason HeatCheck. They were in the beginning stage of an 8-0 run in the 2013 Preseason at that point, and things looked very bright for a franchise that has tried hard to separate themselves from the losing image that the Hornets brand represented for the fans. Then came the regular season. Things seemed bleaker after the first 9 games when the Pelicans were sitting at an underachieving 3-6 record. Fast forward to today and the Pelicans have won 6 of 8, including 3 in a row now.
The Pelicans started the week off on Tuesday with a one-point home loss to the high-powered Golden State Warriors, a team expected to go deep into the playoffs. The game could (and should) have been won on Gordon’s wide-open three in the final seconds, but unfortunately the shot rimmed out and the Warriors sealed the W. On Friday, the Pelicans started a three-game road trip with stops in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago, all three resulting in solid wins for the gulf birds. After a dominating 121-105 win against the Sixers, they won a thriller in Madison Square Garden against the STILL reeling Knicks. Then, for the coup de grâce, they delivered in a triple overtime thriller in Chicago behind a career-high 36 points for Ryan Anderson while also ruining Chicago’s perfect home record for the season. The Bulls were without superstar Derrick Rose, but Anthony Davis also sat out (and will be for the next 4-6 weeks per ESPN.com) the game due to injury. Overall, the Pelicans easily could have won 4 straight and would be 10-7 on the season, a vast turnaround (even at their actual record of 9-8) from the 3-6 start they had earlier in the year. |
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| Lottery Spin | ||
| As stated in the Preseason HeatCheck, this Pelicans team can seriously make an unexpected run into the Western Conference playoffs. With Anthony Davis, this team could push a one or two seed team close to the brink of a 7-game series. Without him, they’re a fringe playoff-caliber team with a glaring low post weakness. Luckily this injury shouldn’t put Davis on the shelf for too long, but the play of Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday will likely be integral during the next month or so until Davis can get back to full health. I can’t say that I fully expect the Pelicans to make the playoffs, but I’m going to spot them around an 8th place finish in a ridiculously competitive (at least for now) Western Conference. | ||
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| Team | Season Record | Previous Week’s Record |
| New York Knicks | 3-13 | 0-3 |
| It’s been a rough year in sports for the New York faithful. First, Alex Rodriguez is in an all-out war versus the MLB, then the Giants come out to lay an egg for most of the season in the NFL, and now the Knicks seem to be aiming for a double-digit losing streak. At least Rob Ford isn’t their Mayor; it could always be worse. The Knicks had three tough games over the past week, falling to the Clippers and Nuggets on the road before dropping a game to the Pelicans at home by a score of 103-99 (as mentioned in the previous section). None of these teams is a bad team, and all three are playoff contenders this season. However, the Knicks were expected to finish in the thick of the playoff race (around 4th or 5th in the East), so this rough start is nothing short of a disaster for them. They’ve currently lost 9 straight and have a matchup in Brooklyn on Thursday to try to end their early season woes.
The Los Angeles game was a 13-point beating, but the Denver and New Orleans matchups were far closer. The loss to the Nuggets came down to the final seconds as Anthony missed a shot late that would have tied the game. Then, in New Orleans, Carmelo hit a 3 with :54 left in the game to pull within three. After that, the Knicks took five shots behind the arc within the final 24 seconds, missing all of them. It just kind of describes the type of season that the Knicks are having so far. They’re almost always so close to winning, but end up falling short each time lately. Hopefully for New York’s sake, they’ll be able to turn it around soon. |
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| Lottery Spin | ||
| I’m still a bit surprised that we’re talking about the Knicks and the Lottery, but as it stands, they would be in line for a Julius Randle-esque pick in 2014. However, Carmelo and Co. will figure it out eventually and when they do, they have the ability to rise as high as possibly the fourth seed in the East. With 66 games left in their season, I’m going to be a bit more realistic with my expectations. I’m calling a 6th place finish for the Knicks in the East, and for a bonus prediction, I’m going to say that they upset the number 3 seed in the East (either the Pistons, Hawks, or Wizards I believe). | ||
By Jon Elliott
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