{"id":31718,"date":"2020-06-27T11:53:45","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T15:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=31718"},"modified":"2020-06-27T14:39:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T18:39:21","slug":"no-new-orleans-pelicans-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/06\/27\/no-new-orleans-pelicans-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"No, the NBA is not Cheating to get the New Orleans Pelicans into the Postseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At first glance, it looks like the NBA is doing everything they can to get the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/new-orleans-pelicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> into the playoffs. They&#8217;re just 3.5 games behind the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/memphis-grizzlies\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> for the 8th seed, and they have the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/nba-remaining-schedules-lakers-own-third-toughest-slate-pelicans-have-easiest-road-with-no-8-seed-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">easiest<\/a> schedule <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/2020\/06\/03\/the-wait-is-over-the-nba-is-back\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">once the season resumes<\/a> in Orlando. However, despite the online uproar, there is no conspiracy afoot.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>There is No Conspiracy to Get the New Orleans Pelicans into the Playoffs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The pieces fit together so nicely: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willizi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zion Williamson<\/a><\/strong>, a playoff push, the easiest schedule, and a potential first-round matchup with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>. It makes sense that the NBA would want the highest ratings possible, and Williamson is one of the hottest tickets in sports right now.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/perkike01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Kendrick Perkins<\/strong><\/a> &#8212; who has never had a bad take, of course &#8212; even <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KendrickPerkins\/status\/1276660824019517440?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">chimed in<\/a>, further fueling conspiracy theorists.<\/p>\n<p>So there has to be some underlying conspiracy to push the Pelicans into the postseason, right?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The Pelicans schedule! \ud83c\udfc0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WontBowDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WontBowDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/WholeNewGame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#WholeNewGame<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6h0TnhZSZz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6h0TnhZSZz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PelicansNBA\/status\/1276656419853398016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 26, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>No, unfortunately. This isn&#8217;t the hot, new NBA conspiracy fans want it to be. I know, I wish it were true, too.<\/p>\n<p>In reality, the Pelicans will play virtually the same schedule they would have faced under normal circumstances. They will still play seven of the 12 opponents they were already slated to play. Only two of the five omissions will be playing in Orlando. It would be hard to play the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/new-york-knicks\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New York Knicks<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/charlotte-hornets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a> after all, since those teams didn&#8217;t get a ticket to Disney World. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/philadelphia-76ers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/phoenix-suns\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phoenix Suns<\/a> are the only available opponents left off the schedule.<\/p>\n<p>The only other changes to the schedule are redactions of repeat games. The Pelicans will still face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/sacramento-kings\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sacramento Kings<\/a> twice &#8212; as previously scheduled &#8212; but will only face the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/san-antonio-spurs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">San Antonio Spurs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/washington-wizards\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Washington Wizards<\/a>, and Memphis Grizzlies once each.<\/p>\n<p>NBA conspiracy theories are fun. Unfortunately, this one isn&#8217;t true. The NBA will resume July 30th with a matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/utah-jazz\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Utah Jazz<\/a>. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"kgJuqbSaQVJ72pQjKKkUog\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1173458228\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'kgJuqbSaQVJ72pQjKKkUog',sig:'OmueczLkVpBKqDuyx-3H8scaw1ntuGBX9LDQTITM89I=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1173458228',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At first glance, it looks like the NBA is doing everything they can to get the New Orleans Pelicans into the playoffs. They&#8217;re just 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies for the 8th seed, and they have the easiest schedule once the season resumes in Orlando. However, despite the online uproar, there is no conspiracy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3009,"featured_media":31723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,33],"tags":[3105,615,308,667,207,96,220,1684],"class_list":["post-31718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-pelicans","tag-2020-nba-season","tag-adam-silver","tag-brandon-ingram","tag-lonzo-ball","tag-memphis-grizzlies","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-zion-williamson"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}