Spurs vs Pelicans Betting Preview: New Orleans Hope to Snap Slump

Spurs Ready to Spoil Party

The New Orleans Pelicans will hope to snap their four-game skid when they play host to the San Antonio Spurs. Let’s dive into our Spurs vs Pelicans Betting Preview and see what we can expect from these two teams.

The Pelicans will be without their two best NBA players for this one, with Zion Williamson (Health & Safety Protocol) and Brandon Ingram (Toe) both ruled out. Larry Nance Jr is also listed as questionable for the home team.

Meanwhile, the Spurs may also be missing some key pieces with Keldon Johnson (Hamstring) listed as doubtful while starting center Jakob Poeltl is questionable.

Despite being without their two main scorers the Pelicans have opened as 7.5-point favorites. The total in this one is sitting at 226.0 points.

Game Information

New Orleans Pelicans Need Defensive Effort

Any team missing their two top scorers will find it difficult to put their best effort forward, but coach Willie Green is expecting a better showing from his nba team on the defensive end of the floor from what we’ve seen from them recently.

The Pelicans have given up 124.7 points per game during this four-game losing streak. The last time they held an opponent to under 115 points was back on December, 8th when they hosted a tired Detroit team that was on the back end of a long west coast road trip.

Last season, the Pelicans forged a strong defensive identity down the stretch of the regular season, which they carried with them into the play-in and playoff games.

In lineups without Zion or Ingram the team averaged just 106.8 points per 100 possession, which ranks in the 8th percentile of five-man lineups in the NBA this season for scoring. Knowing that they won’t have things so easy on offense should see them bring their best defensive effort and that could be enough to keep this young San Antonio team at bay.

San Antonio Spurs Still Working Through Growing Pains

Gregg Popovich knew this season wasn’t about winning, but instead about instilling good habits that will serve this young core well in the future.

The result has been a lot of offensive struggles in halfcourt sets, which is what New Orleans will look to put them through in order to avoid any easy transition opportunities that can help them find rhythm.

Over the past month, San Antonio is dead last in half court offense. They are 30th in half court points per play and 30th in points per 100 possessions to match.

A lot of what they do well is to essentially find ways to score through effort and determination. They are top-10 in second chance opportunities and crash the glass well when Poeltl is available for them. Coming up against a focussed and determined group without their stars and riding their worst losing streak of the season isn’t a place where they’re likely to find some of those easy buckets that might appear on another night.

This is a game where points are tough to come by given the offensive talent on the sidelines for either side. Looking at the NBA Conference standings for these respective sides it’s hard to make a case for wanting to play on the Spurs, but asking a team missing their two top scorers to win by more than three possessions is a tough ask.

The strongest look here would be to play Under the full game total. The Pelicans should show a renewed focus and effort on that side of the ball, but will also struggle to get the looks they want without their reliable scorers.

That’s all for our Spurs vs Pelicans Betting Preview. Be sure to check back for more NBA point spread previews and best bets.
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