NBA parlay picks February 27: Back the New Orleans Pelicans at home
The NBA schedule features just four games on Monday, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of parlay possibilities.
The pregame narrative: The New Orleans Pelicans have struggled lately, but they’ve drawn an exceptionally good matchup. Jalen Brunson has been a dangerous perimeter threat lately and Gordon Hayward is playing the best basketball we’ve seen from him in years.
NBA odds as of 10:02 a.m. on 02/27/2023.
NBA parlay picks
Parlay: Pelicans +3.5 + Brunson over 1.5 threes +Hayward over 16.5 points (+279)
Pelicans +3.5 (-278): Because New Orleans has been a mess without Zion Williamson, we’re opting for an alternate spread here. But the Pelicans are still a team that does good work at home.
New Orleans is 20-10 at Smoothie King Center, covering this spread in 73.3% of its home dates. The Pels have just one home loss to a team that isn’t at least in a play-in position.
Their opponents on Monday, the Orlando Magic, don’t fit that description and they have a 10-20 road record to their names. Only 26.7% of their away games have resulted in victories by four points or more.
It may not be pretty but the Pelicans should be able to ride a red-hot Brandon Ingram — who’s averaging 28.8 points per game this month — to a win, or failing that, a one-possession loss.
Other parlay legs
Brunson over 1.5 threes (-200): The New York Knicks’ starting point guard has been going off since the beginning of 2023, averaging 28.6 points per game.
That extended hot streak has extended to his 3-point shooting as he’s averaged 2.4 threes in that time, shooting 45.2% from behind the line.
Brunson has hit this over in 18 of his last 24 games, including a January 26 matchup with the Boston Celtics. He also dropped multiple threes on Boston back in November, indicating that the team doesn’t have an answer for him from behind the line.
The juice on this line is a touch aggressive to pursue on an individual bet, but it works nicely as another relatively safe parlay leg that still builds the payout significantly.
Hayward over 16.5 points (-117): It has been almost impossible for Hayward to stay healthy over the last two seasons, but he’s capable of making an impact when he’s on the floor.
The 32-year-old is on an absolute tear right now, averaging 22.2 points in his last five games, falling short of this line just once — by a single point.
We have faith in the veteran to keep it going thanks to his unimpressive opposition. The Detroit Pistons allow the second-most points in the NBA and concede the eighth-most points to small forwards, per FantasyPros.
