The start of the 2025 NBA season is just under two weeks away, which means that coverage around the country is starting to really pick up.

The preseason is fully in swing, and people are making their predictions on how this season is going to turn out.

ESPN's Kevin Pelton released win total projections for each team using a combination of advanced analytics, which he explains in further detail here. He used the team's average health, luck-adjusted stats and more to find an estimation on how many games each NBA team will win.

For the Pelicans, their projection comes in at 32.6 wins. While that is certainly better than winning 21 games, like a year ago, it really wouldn't change much for their outlook.

Rounding up and giving them 33 wins would have had them at the same spot that they were in last year. The No. 14 seed. That's how big the gap between New Orleans and the No. 13 San Antonio Spurs was last season.

Despite adding more talent to a roster that is all getting to the right age at the right time, and in theory, they will likely have at least marginally better injury luck, they aren't even being picked to make the play-in.

It would be hard for a 33-win season to feel disappointing, even if Joe Dumars has hinted that the playoffs aren't exactly make-or-break for the Pelicans this season.

"There's no amount of wins, there's no 'you got to make the play-in' or 'you got to make the [playoffs],' none of that," said Dumars of his expectations for his coaches this season. "What I expect from us is to be a high-competing team every night."

That could be a good way to look at it for now. There is a lot of talent on the roster right now, but this is still a team in the first year of a new front office regime that won 21 games a year ago. There will be some growing pains.

The first thing that must change is culture. Wins will come after that, especially with the potential talent on their roster right now.

Guys like Jeremiah Fears or Derik Queen will ideally become important figures on a winning team in New Orleans, but they are young and highly inexperienced. It will take time for them to adjust.

Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, Jordon Poole, Herb Jones and even more are nearing what should be the prime years of their careers, but even they are all still considered young.

So don't freak out if the Pelicans aren't a top-four seed team this season, but there should still be marked improvements from their last campaign.

The biggest change that would likely happen is moving on to a new coach, which many are surprised didn't happen when the shift to Dumars happened. This looks to be the core of their future, though, in terms of players.