Pelicans vs. Nuggets prediction and odds for Tuesday, January 31 (Back Denver)

The Denver Nuggets have dropped back-to-back games, but still remain atop the Western Conference heading into Tuesday’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans is in a terrible rough patch, losing eight straight games to fall all the way to the No. 8 spot in the West. The team is still without Zion Williamson, but it should get Brandon Ingram back in the lineup on Tuesday after he sat out the second leg of a back-to-back on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nuggets may be without a key player in this game, as guard Jamal Murray is listed as questionable.

Denver has the second best home record in the NBA this season, going 22-4 straight up. The Pels, on the other hand, are just 9-16 on the road.

With Zion out, Denver comes into this game as a sizable favorite even with Murray’s status up in the air. How should we bet on this matchup?

Pelicans vs. Nuggets odds, spread and total

Pelicans vs. Nuggets prediction and pick

If there’s a time where you should blindly bet on Denver, it’s when it’s at home against a bad team, which New Orleans is right now.

The Nuggets are 13-10-1 against the spread as home favorites, but they are winning those games handily by an average margin of 10.5 points per game.

Even with Ingram likely back in the lineup for New Orleans, I don’t think this team has the offense to compete with Denver, who plays much better at Ball Arena.

The Nuggets rank sixth in the NBA in defensive rating at home and second in offensive rating.

Meanwhile, the Pelicans are 18th in offensive rating on the road, and they are dead last in ORTG over their last 10 games.

Lay the points with Denver until the Pels give us a reason to trust them again.

Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.