The New Orleans Pelicans started the season 1-12, and it definitely seemed as though there was no hope for them to make the playoffs. However, they are currently the 10th seed in the Western Conference, with a chance to make the playoffs through the play-in tournament.
Their turnaround has been in large part due to the play of star Brandon Ingram, who has been the driving force for the team without Zion Williamson. He is currently putting up 22.6 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 5.4 APG this year.
It is clear that Brandon Ingram is an All-Star caliber player. However, despite his stellar play, he was snubbed from the All-Star team, not even making the 2022 All-star reserves. It is definitely unfortunate that a player of his talent will probably be missing out on the All-Star game.
Despite the snub, it seems as though Brandon Ingram’s focus lies elsewhere. When asked about not being selected for the All-Star game, he claimed that it “hasn’t been on his mind a lot” and added that his goal is “to make the playoffs”.
Brandon Ingram on not making All-Star:
"Not making All-Star hasn't been on my mind a lot. I think I would be forcing the issue (if it was). I have another goal in mind and that's winning with my team in the playoffs. Maybe make the All-NBA team…My goal is to make the playoffs"
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) February 7, 2022
“Not making All-Star hasn’t been on my mind a lot. I think I would be forcing the issue (if it was). I have another goal in mind and that’s winning with my team in the playoffs. Maybe make the All-NBA team…My goal is to make the playoffs”
There is no doubt that Brandon Ingram is doing his best to keep the New Orleans Pelicans afloat without Zion Williamson. He has not made a postseason appearance yet during his career, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can lead his team to the playoffs in the future.
The New Orleans Pelicans could potentially be a scary play-in team if Zion Williamson ends up coming back prior to the tournament starting. Hopefully, we see them make the playoffs, and there’s no doubt that they have fought hard to make that happen.
