Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 11/17/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, November 17, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (-1)

The New Orleans Pelicans (5-6) host the Denver Nuggets (9-2) at Smoothie King Center on Friday. New Orleans opens this matchup as 1-point dogs. The over/under is set at 230.

The Nuggets took the court against the Clippers and went home with a win by a final score of 111-108 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Nuggets left the arena with 19 and the Clippers totaled 24 fouls. They also buried 13 out of their 29 attempts from distance. Los Angeles ended up shooting 87.5% when shooting free throws by converting 21 of 24 attempts. On top of that, Los Angeles pulled down 42 rebounds (14 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 2 rejections. Los Angeles dished out 21 assists and had 10 steals for this contest. With regard to defense, Denver allowed their opponent to shoot 43.0% from the floor on 37 out of 86 shooting. They also doled out 26 assists for the game as well as creating 10 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they collected 36 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Nuggets converted 25 of 32 attempts for a rate of 78.1%. Denver walked away from the game with a 53.4% field goal percentage (39 out of 73) and knocked down 8 of 23 shots from 3-point land.

Nikola Jokic is a guy who played a role for the contest. Jokic ended up shooting 34.8% from the floor and also recorded 9 assists. He saw the court for 36 minutes and also totaled 16 boards. He ended up finishing with 32 points on 8 of 23 shooting.

Denver heads into this one with a mark of 9-2 for the year. They are averaging 114.5 pts per contest (11th in basketball) while going 50.5% from the field. The Nuggets are connecting on 35.6% on shots from 3-point land (126 of 354) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Denver is collecting 44.6 rebounds per game and has accumulated 320 assists on the year, which has them ranked 5th in the NBA in terms of passing. They are turning it over 13.3 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.2 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers every game and they draw 18.8 fouls. They rank 5th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 258 surrendered on the year. The Nuggets defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.6% (431 of 967) and they surrender 42.2 boards per game as a unit. They surrender 33.5% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 5th in the league in points per game allowed (106.3).

In their last game, the Pelicans got the victory with a final of 131-110 when they faced the Mavericks. In regard to rebounds, New Orleans permitted Dallas to grab 45 in total (16 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 33.3% from distance by shooting 14 out of 42 and finished the game at 20 out of 26 from the free throw line (76.9%). The Pelicans permitted the Mavericks to convert 38 of 90 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.2% in this matchup. Overall, the Pelicans finished shooting 49 out of 94 from the field which gave them a rate of 52.1%. Concerning shooting from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 14 of 38 tries (36.8%). They were able to make 19 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 73.1%. The Mavericks were called for 16 personal fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 26 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 17 steals for the contest. The Pelicans collected 30 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 42 in the game.

Jordan Hawkins ended up being a factor for the Pelicans in this game. He made 8 of 17 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 47.1%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. Hawkins accumulated 25 points in his 33 mins on the court and accumulated 3 assists in this contest.

New Orleans has a mark of 5-6 on the year. The Pelicans are committing 20.1 fouls every game and they hit 73.9% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 23.8 times per contest (24th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.4 times per game. New Orleans has 1,222 pts so far this year (111.1 per game) and they pull in 44.2 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans are connecting on 45.9% from the floor, which is ranked 21st in the league.

The New Orleans defense surrenders 32.3% on 3-point attempts (142 of 440) and their opponents are connecting on 77.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 26.5 dimes and 48.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 20th and 28th in the league. The Pelicans are ranked 20th in the league in points per game surrendered with 115.6. They are able to force 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.1% from the field (13th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New Orleans (+1)

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