The New Orleans Pelicans Continue To Be The Biggest Surprise Of These Entire Playoffs

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There have been a ton of awesome moments and great games so far in this first round of the 2022 Playoffs, but at this point even I can admit the best story of the opening round is the New Orleans Pelicans. Suggesting anything else would simply be a mistake. When you're the 9 seed and owned a 36-46 record during the regular season, you should not be putting THE PHOENIX SUNS in a position where their season is over unless they win 2 of the next 3 games. That feels so insane to type but it's the reality of the situation. After their gigantic home win last night to even the series 2-2

this is now anybody's series. I'm not kidding. We talked about how wide open things are this postseason, and while I don't think any of us were including NO/PHX in that claim, what this series is reminding us is that when it comes to the playoffs everything comes down to matchups. A confident young team with high powered offensive talent who is clearly not afraid to play anyone can be a dangerous opponent. The Pelicans surprisingly match up well with the Suns and that's why we're in this spot. Of course not having Devin Booker is a big deal, but let's not act like the Suns are dogfood without Booker in the lineup. They're the Suns! Booker missed 14 games this year and the Suns went 8-6 so it's not like they are some sort of lottery team or anything without him. 

The bigger deal is that in a big game where the Suns could have really put the pressure on, Chris Paul had the worst performance of his postseason career

That doesn't exactly help that whole Chris Paul playoff choker narrative that exists whether it's fair or not. My advice for Suns fans would be to not overreact. Chances are they won't shoot 7-27 (25.9%) from three again. I feel pretty confident we won't see another 42-15 FTA difference again. I mean come on, that's an outrageous disparity but at the same time the Pels were aggressive all night and even with that same approach, I don't see it being that high again. 

But this is more about the Pelicans. Man what a fun team this is to watch. Anyone still have a problem with the Play In tournament? I can't help but think there are a little We Believe Warriors shit going on with these Pels, and as we know momentum can be a funny thing this time of year. They are getting the best basketball of Brandon Ingram's life

and shit shot making is starting to reach insane levels. We always knew he was as talented offensively as any wing player in the league, and if he truly unlocks his potential defensively he becomes a devastating player. It had to be great to see JV bounce back from his brutal Game 3 to completely outplay Deandre Ayton in Game 4

and we already know what CJ McCollum can bring. He's been a walking bucket since the second he arrived in NO. He embraced them, they embraced him back and they've done nothing but make beautiful basketball magic since.

What makes the Pelicans so fun isn't just this unreal run and story, but the fact that their roster is littered with players you simply love to root for. You're telling me you don't love Jose Alvarado and Herb Jones? What's wrong with you?

What Herb Jones is doing on the defensive end as a ROOKIE is borderline insane. To think they got him with the 35th pick is also rather insane and I think we can all agree it's OK to declare that a homerun pick already.

Watching this team play, it's fascinating how calm they are in high pressure moments. Remember, this is a young as shit team who is mostly going through all this together for the first time. Maybe they are too young and inexperienced to be intimidated by the moment? I mean I watched them out execute the Suns in crunch time of the fourth quarter last night and the Suns are the best clutch time team on the planet. You can look that up. Everything we saw during the year should tell us that what we are watching in this series should not be happening. These Pelicans holding a Suns team to just 103 points? What? One of the best defenses in the NBA allowing 118 points and never having a quarter under 24 points? Including allowing 34 points in the final frame? What is happening?

I'll tell you what's happening. Playoff basketball. When people say it's a different beast, this is what they mean. Anything can happen when things slow down, you have more time to prepare, and things become about exploiting matchups. Maybe there's an injury that tilts the series, maybe one of the greatest point guards in league history has a horrific performance and opens the door for an upset. The fact that these things are unpredictable is what makes it so fun, and pretty much EVERYONE thought this was going to be a quick series. 4 or 5 games max. Now, this feels like it has 7 games written all over it. At least we can only hope that's true simply for the entertainment factor.

If the Pelicans somehow pull this off, the ripple effects will be felt across the league, in either conference. You're telling me the Warriors wouldn't LOVE a world where they don't have to face the Suns in the WCF? Then in the East, you don't think whoever makes it out of that gauntlet will be happy they don't have to face a 64-18 Suns team in a Finals? That huge. How many other first round series could have that many title implications? It's nuts.

Odds are the Suns figure their shit out, take care of business at home in Game 5 and this is all for nothing. But the Pels have already shown the ability to win on the road, and that was with Devin Booker dropping 31 points in a half (before getting hurt). If this series has told us anything it's that you can no longer assume the Suns will just streamroll this Pelicans team. They're for real and they are playing with house money. You mix those together and that's exactly how upsets happen.