On Jan. 26, the Pelicans lost DeMarcus Cousins to a season-ending injury.
Without Cousins, they went 21-13 down the stretch and finished with the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.
Over that same time period, the Warriors won 19 of their final 33 games (including only seven of their last 17) as they dealt with an onslaught of injuries to their stars as well as their bench.
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These stats below (from Jan. 27 through the end of the regular season) paint a picture of how Golden State and New Orleans differed, leading up to their second round matchup starting Saturday night:
OFFENSE:
Assists per game:
Pelicans T-3rd: 27.1 assists
Warriors 5th: 27.1 assists
Golden State Warriors
Rebounds per game:
Pelicans 5th: 46.1 rebounds
Warriors 24th: 42.5 rebounds
Field goal percentage:
Warriors 1st: 49.1%
Pelicans 8th: 48%
3-point percentage:
Warriors 5th: 38.2%
Pelicans 20th: 35.3%
Points per game:
Pelicans 3rd: 112.6 ppg
Warriors 12th: 109.5 ppg
Turnovers per game:
Pelicans 16th: 13.8
Warriors 25th: 15.1
DEFENSE:
Opponent field goal percentage:
Pelicans 5th: 44.6%
Warriors 11th: 45.8%
Opponent 3-point percentage:
Pelicans 5th: 34.5%
Warriors 11th: 35.5%
Defensive Rating:
Pelicans 5th: 103.7
Warriors 12th: 105.6
Blocks per game:
Pelicans 1st: 7.0 blocks
Warriors 2nd: 6.8 blocks