Pelicans vs. Warriors Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
One could argue that three of the five best players in the NBA will share the court in this one (assuming everyone healthy) in Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Steph Curry and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
This is the second of three meetings between these teams, with New Orleans hosting Golden State on April 9 to close the regular season. It is possible that the clubs could meet in the playoffs for a second straight season (New Orleans lost in five games in last season’s Western Conference semifinals), but if not, it’s the last trip to Oakland for the Pelicans with the Warriors moving across the bay to San Francisco next season.
On Halloween, the Pelicans were 131-121 losers at the Warriors – losing for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings in Oakland. Curry had 37 points and nine assists, and Durant 24 points and eight helpers. Davis had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday 28 points and nine assists. The Pelicans have lost 28 of 31 overall to Golden State, including playoffs.
The total has gone over in four of the past five meetings in Oakland.
New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans won at the Clippers on Monday, 121-117, to improve to 1-1 on a five-game road trip. That Davis guy is pretty good and he had 46 points (despite just four in the first quarter) and 16 rebounds vs. Los Angeles in only the Pelicans’ second road win of the season against a Western Conference foe. Davis has had at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and one blocked shot in 13 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the NBA since the 1983-84 season. Julius Randle chipped in 27 points and Holiday 19 points and eight assists.
New Orleans has a decent enough starting group but is just not very deep, and when Davis especially gets a breather this team usually goes in the tank. The Pelicans are still just 2-5 ATS in their past seven on the road.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have looked very mortal at times this season, but when they play to their capabilities, they are still clearly the class of the league. That was on display Tuesday night when they trashed an excellent Nuggets team in Denver – which had the NBA’s best home record and had won 12 in a row there – 142-111. The Warriors set an NBA record by scoring 51 first-quarter points in their fifth straight win.
Golden State shot 19-for-25 from the field (76 percent) and 10 of 14 (71.4 percent) from deep in the quarter. The 10 first-quarter three-pointers were a franchise record. Durant was 7-for-7 in the quarter. The Dubs have failed to cover their past four in the second of a back-to-back.
