Grizzlies vs Pelicans Prediction

New Orleans Pelicans (16-11) vs Memphis Grizzlies (6-18)

Game Info: Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 7:30 pm (Smoothie King Center)

Betting Odds: New Orleans Pelicans -6.5 -- Over/Under: 232.5

The Memphis Grizzlies pay a visit to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night. Here's a Grizzlies vs Pelicans prediction.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies have been in a rut as they've lost six of their last seven games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a sixth straight defeat after getting thrashed by the Clippers in a 116-97 loss last night. Ziaire Williams led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench, Desmond Bane added 17 points with five assists while Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in with 11 points. As a team, the Grizzlies shot just 35 percent from the field and 19 of 54 from the 3-point line, but they never looked like they had a chance in this one as they leaked 68 points in the first half, before they went ice-cold and scored just 13 points in the third quarter to fall behind by as many as 31 points in this one. Santi Aldama had a quiet game of just nine points on two of 10 shooting while Xavier Tillman finished scoreless on zero of eight shooting.

New Orleans Pelicans

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in great form as they've won seven of their last nine games overall and they will be eager to build on their current four-game win streak after blowing past the Spurs in a 146-110 road win on Sunday. CJ McCollum led the team with 29 points on 10 of 15 shooting, Brandon Ingram added 26 points on 10 of 17 shooting, Jose Alverado scored 16 points off the bench while Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas scored 15 points each. As a team, the Pelicans shot a healthy 56 percent from the field and a sizzling 22 of 42 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with their defense by holding the Spurs to just 20 points in the first quarter to jump out to an early double-digit lead, before they exploded for 85 points in the second half to make it a complete blowout in the end.

New Orleans Pelicans Player Facts

• Herb Jones ranks 5th amongst qualified players for steals per game (1.7) this season.
• Zion Williamson ranks 3rd in the Western Conference amongst qualified players for FG% (58.3%) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Pelicans rank 30th in the league for opponent three-point field goals attempts per game this season (39.6).
• The Pelicans rank 2nd in the league for opponent steals per game this season (6.3).
• The Grizzlies rank 30th in the league for points per game this season (105.6).
• The Grizzlies rank 30th in the league for opponent blocks per game this season (7.0).

Grizzlies vs Pelicans prediction

The Grizzlies will once again be shorthanded with Luke Kennard, Bismack Biyombo and Marcus Smart all out, while the Pelicans are keeping an eye on Naji Marshall who is questionable due to a right ankle sprain. The The Grizzlies have been one of the coldest teams in the league lately, running into one of the hottest teams in the Pelicans who just blew past the Spurs by 36 points in their last outing. The Grizzlies are also playing their second game of a back to back set, so I'll happily go with the Pelicans at the reasonable line at home.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.