Thunder Overwhelming Series Favs vs Pelicans
Pelicans vs Thunder Spreads: Can The Pelicans Make This a Series Without Zion?
Expectations are high for the Oklahoma City Thunder when facing the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference series.
Pelicans vs Thunder spreads have the Thunder at -700, which is expected after they led the conference.
The Pelicans are +500 underdogs, and without Zion Williamson, they’re going to find it tough.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans 
Day/Time:
Location: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Backs Against the Wall
The Pelicans fought bravely to beat the Sacramento Kings in the NBA play-in game on Friday night.
Playing without Williamson isn’t easy, but they gave their home fans something to cheer for. However, they now face Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, who are one of the best teams in the NBA.
They are the NBA leaders in the West, so the Pelicans would need to pull off a major upset just to see the series be competitive.
However, we’re choosing to see the positives for the Pelicans, who are 28-14 on the road. That’s one of the better road records in the NBA, and they could be the surprise package in the NBA playoffs.
Our worry is their lack of depth, which didn’t matter in the play-in game, but it will matter in a seven game series against one of the deepest teams in the competition.
They will have to beat the Thunder on the road at least once, and the Thunder have lost just eight home games all season. That’s the task facing the Pels, who won the first meeting against the Thunder, but lost the subsequent two games 107-83 and 119-112.
Pelicans vs Thunder spreads aren’t giving them much chance of winning the series, and on face value, that’s a fair summation.
Thunder Realizing Potential
The 2023/24 season was meant to be a progressive rebuilding phase for the Thunder, but their days of struggle appear over.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been an incredible talent, and add the likes of Josh Giddey and Chet Holmgren, and you have a winning formula.
They appear to be having fun, and that’s often lost in modern NBA. It’s a business after all, but it’s still a game, and the Thunder have brought new life to the Western Conference.
As NBA standings suggest, they have been the best team in the west. They ended the regular season with five consecutive wins, while many other teams were happy to lose a few games.
It’s a winning attitude that should be commended, and it should result in a series win. We can’t fathom the Thunder losing in the first round, and it would undo all their hard work, and leave them scratching their heads for their future.
Despite what Shannon Sharpe said on First Take, we don’t think they’re a weak top seed.
“Do you actually think that the OKC Thunder can actually make it to the Western Conference (Finals)? Do you think they fear the OKC Thunder having home court? Really?” Sharpe said. “This might be the weakest No. 1 seed in the NBA.”
The bigger question is how many games will it take the Thunder to wrap things up. The shorter the series the better for Oklahoma City, but bettors should give the Pelicans some credit with their home games.
Thunder in Five
We’re agreeing with Pelicans vs Thunder spreads and locking in the Thunder to win comfortably.
However, there isn’t much money in the -700 price, so we’re predicting the Thunder to win in five games.
Based on their impressive home record, the Pelicans playing without their best player, and wanting to remain fresh for the rest of the playoffs, we see them wanting to wrap things up quickly.
We would have picked a 4-0 series win, but we’re happy to give the Pelicans one game at home. They are good enough to get hot, with players like Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum good enough to produce the goods.
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