Pelicans React to Catching Lakers in Standings

With their win over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday evening, the New Orleans Pelicans have passed the Los Angeles Lakers for the Western Conference's 9th-seed. With identical records of 30-41, the Pelicans hold the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, putting them in 9th. The significance of this is consequential, as the play-in game would be hosted in New Orleans rather than Los Angeles if the season ended today. While the season of course does not end today, the team shared their thoughts on this development after the game.

When asked about catching the Lakers in the standings, Jonas Valanciunas said, "We had a rough start, but we kept believing. We never gave up. We see some good things ahead of us. We just gotta keep doing what we do, stay together, it's been an up and down rollercoaster season. At moments we've played great, at moments we've played not so good. So we just gotta believe in each other, the coaching staff, what we do, and execute. I think that's the key."

The New Orleans Pelicans shared this Tweet after the game, acknowledging that they had surpassed the Lakers in the standings:

👀 https://t.co/EBIuiDXbH2
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 21, 2022

After the game, CJ McCollum said, "We just gotta continue figuring out ways to win. Hopefully BI will be back soon, we need him, but in the meantime guys gotta step up... We're gonna need everybody to step up and fulfill different roles." Understanding there's still plenty of season left, McCollum spent most of his postgame press conference focusing on what the Pelicans need to do to improve, but he was certainly pleased with their effort in this game.

While neither the Pelicans or Lakers have much chance to catch the LA Clippers for the 8th-seed, home court advantage in that play-in game is certainly a worthy incentive at this point in the season. By the team's postgame comments, they recognize that significance.