1) For a long stretch of this season, New Orleans (26-35) was in 14th place in the Western Conference, but a turnaround moved the Pelicans into ninth intermittently in recent days. Due to a combination of outcomes since Sunday, however, New Orleans woke up this morning at No. 12 in the standings. Sacramento (27-34) and San Antonio (26-34) both won Tuesday and inched ahead of the Pelicans. Eighth-place Memphis (30-31) is four full games ahead of NOLA.
2) The Pelicans have numerous key games that group of West foes in March, including facing Memphis twice over a four-day span, on March 21 and 24.