Two weeks ago, following a fifth loss in six games, the thought process for this space was to pat the fighting Pelicans on the back and tell them, "good effort and go get 'em next year."
After all, former All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday never made it back from a leg injury and they persevered better than in years past through another slew of unfortunate ailments. Even with playoff chances slipping fast, the season revealed growth, maturity and hope.
Then came four consecutive wins against teams out of the playoffs to gain some steam, followed by Tuesday's heart-stopping win over league-leading Golden State. That fifth win in six games surged New Orleans past slumping Oklahoma City and into the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff spot.
Twenty-four hours later, as young teams will often do after a euphoric moment, the Pelicans fell flat on their beaks at Memphis. Still, even after that 36-point, pride-popping defeat, the Pelicans (42-36) are in the driver's seat to make the playoffs.
It is their race to lose, and one dark-horse MVP candidate Anthony Davis must make sure the Pelicans win.
With four games to go for both New Orleans (42-36) and OKC (42-36), the Pelicans hold the tiebreaker for essentially a one-game lead. The Thunder, depleted and exhausted, have lost six of seven and four in a row, and one-man wrecking crew Russell Westbrook is practically running on fumes.
So yes, this is the moment for Davis to seize, for him to officially arrive by carrying the Pelicans on his back and into the postseason for the first time since Chris Paul walked out that door, since Davis was a high school senior in Chicago.
He turned 22 a month ago, still a pup in this league to be sure, yet it's now on him to lead like a hardened vet. Losing at Memphis on the second night of a back-to-back is hardly shameful, but failing to compete with the stakes so high is inexcusable. Davis, a non-factor with just 12 points and five rebounds in 28 minutes, can't let it happen again. The Pelicans have little experience in the pressure-cooker, where emotions can swing on alternating possessions let alone game to game. The Pelicans' most experienced playoff performer is backup guard Norris Cole, acquired in February from Miami.
The player who sets the tone for others to follow is Davis.
"Tough game [Tuesday] night," Davis said of the Warriors win following the Grizzlies loss. "We did a lot that game, but it can't be an excuse or a cop-out to put up a performance like we did [Wednesday] night."
In the previous eight games, which included single-digit losses to the Clippers and Rockets, the 6-foot-10 power forward played like an MVP, averaging 23.8 points on 49-percent shooting, 10.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 blocks.
Playoffs or not, Davis has had a monumental third season as a pro with averages of 24.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. He's on the cusp of becoming only the eighth player in NBA history to average at least 24.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Seven players have accomplished it a total of 28 times, according to BasketballReference.com (five are Hall of Famers, Shaquille O'Neal will be and Elton Brand was a beast before injuries). Only twice has a player who amassed such stats failed to make the playoffs, and not since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in consecutive seasons, 1974-75 with the Bucks and 1975-76 with the Lakers.
Davis will eventually make the playoffs, and likely for many years to come. Yet if Davis and the Pelicans fail to complete this mission with the goal so close, what's evolved over 78 games as a very encouraging season will feel much less so.
The reality in the West is that opportunities must be seized. With health, the Thunder will resume title contention next season. Name another current West playoff team that projects to get significantly worse in 2015-16? Playoff spots will again be at a premium.
And so this final stretch run starts tonight with both teams back in action. In fact, the Thunder and Pelicans play their remaining games on the same nights, at virtually the same times.
So which team has the easier path? Both teams play two at home, two on the road. The only mutual opponent is Minnesota.
New Orleans plays tonight at home against struggling Phoenix, Sunday at Houston, Monday at Minnesota and back home Wednesday for the finale against San Antonio, which could still be fighting for the No. 2 seed.
Oklahoma City plays at home tonight against Sacramento, Sunday at Indiana, which is trying to get into the East playoffs, back home on Monday against Portland and at Minnesota to close out the regular season on Wednesday.
So there it is.
"We play against teams that we can beat, we know we can beat, we beat them before," Davis said. "We've just got to go out and win, go out there and compete."
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