New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs Betting Prediction and Odds April 13
New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs betting preview for Wednesday, April 13. At the time of posting, New Orleans has opened as a 5.5-point home favorite over the visiting Spurs, with the total sitting at 226 points.
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New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs Analysis
The 10th place San Antonio Spurs invade the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for an elimination play-in game against the 9th place Pelicans.
The winner advances to play in Minnesota against the Timberwolves and the loser goes home. The Spurs lost each of their last three games of the season, while the Pelicans lost their last two. However, both teams went 6-4 in their last ten games.
The Spurs won three of the four head-to-head meetings between these squads, including winning both games in New Orleans.
Spurs Hope Scoring Leads To Playoff Success
The San Antonio Spurs got off to a terrible start to the season, losing 13 of their first 17 games. They did show resiliency down the stretch, winning 7 of their final 11 games.
The Spurs finished the regular season 8th in scoring with an average of 113.2 points a game. Dejounte Murray is leading the team in scoring with 21.1 points a game while shooting 46.2%. Murray also leads the team in assists with 9.2 dimes per game.
The Spurs defense has been a weakness all season, raking 23rd with 113 points allowed per game to their opponents. However they have ratcheted up the defense recently, ranking 4th in defensive rating over their final 11 games.
Pelicans Lean Heavily On Ingram & McCollum
The New Orleans Pelicans got off to even a worse start this season, losing 12 of their first 13 games. They played better down the stretch before being blown out in each of their final two games.
They lost by 21 at home against the Golden State Warriors and 27 in Memphis against Grizzlies in the game prior.
However it’s tough to know what to make of that as their play-in seed was all but locked up. Brandon Ingram is the Pelicans second leading scorer with 22.7 points per game, he missed both those games with a hamstring injury.
The young Duke product is probable to play and will more than likely start in San Antonio. Shooting guard CJ McCollum was acquired from Portland at the trade deadline, he leads New Orleans with 24.3 points and 5.8 assists per game.
The Spurs did win 3 of 4 against New Orleans, but the Pels split the final two with McCollum in the lineup. Defensively is where the Pelicans have the advantage as they rank 13th in points allowed compared to the 23rd ranked Spurs.
New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs Prediction
The New Orleans Pelicans are favored by 5.5 points with an over/under set at 226. The Spurs have been the most undervalued team in the NBA during the last two weeks of the regular season.
They have won 7 of their last 11 games straight up, going 10-1 against the number, including covering the spread in their last seven games of the season.
San Antonio also has a great ATS track record against New Orleans. They have covered the number in 8 of their last 9 games against the Pelicans, including the last seven in New Orleans. Keldon Johnson has stepped up as well, averaging over 20 points per game in the same 11 games down the stretch.
Dejounte Murray is one of the top point guards in the NBA and he will be motivated to go toe-to-toe with the Pelicans in this game.
New Orleans may come out on top, but 5.5 points seems like too much. I’m fully confident in backing head coach Gregg Popovich in an elimination game with points. Give me the Spurs.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs +5.5
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NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Wednesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of professional handicappers for the NBA Tip-Off Show every Monday-Friday at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of pro sports bettors as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs clash.
WagerTalk NBA Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NBA point spreads, moneylines, first half lines and betting percentages for all of Wednesday’s NBA games, including this New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
Andy Lang has lived in Indianapolis his whole life, and like most people from the Hoosier State, he became fascinated with motor sports. That interest in motor sports turned into a desire to make money off the sport through fantasy contests and sports betting. Like most, he took his lumps when he first got started, but now he is one of the most respected NASCAR bettors in the industry. Andy has expanded that sports betting experience to become profitable in a number of other sports, transforming this interest from a side hobby to a major source of income.
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