Thunder Against the Spread | OKC Heavily Favored Against Pelicans with Dort, Holmgren Back in Starting Lineup

Tip-Off: 7 PM CT

Location: Paycom Center (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Spread: Thunder (-15.5)

Total: 236

Trends Against The Spread

Thunder	vs.	Pelicans
33-19 (63%)	All	21-30-1 (41%)
19-8 (70%) at home	Location	8-18 (30%) on the road
32-18 (64%) as favorite	Status	16-21-1 (43%) as underdog or pick
19-8 (70%) as home favorite	Location Status	7-13 (35%) as road underdog
2-0 (100%)	Head To Head	0-2 (0%)

Trends Against The Total

• Oklahoma City is 27-24-1 (52%) against the over on the season.
• New Orleans is 30-22 (57%) against the over on the season.
• The Thunder is 16-11 (59%) against the over at home.
• The Pelicans are 13-13- (50%) against the over on the road.

Team Stats

TEAM	PTS	PA	FG%	3P%	REB	AST	TOV	STL	BLK	STRK	L10
NOP	110.2	118.8	44.7	34.9	42.8	25.2	14.3	9.4	5.5	L8	2-8
OKC	117.8	104.8	47.5	35.6	44.5	26.2	12.0	11.0	5.6	W5	8-2

Injury Report

Thunder

• Ousmane Dieng (strained right soleus) is OUT.
• Isaiah Joe (right knee soreness) is OUT.
• Ajay Mitchell (sprained right great toe) is OUT.
• Nikola Topic (left knee surgery) is OUT.
• Cason Wallace (strained right shoulder) is OUT.

Pelicans

• Boston Brandon (sprained left ankle) is OUT.
• Bruce Brown (not with team) is OUT.
• Herbert Jones (strained right shoulder) is OUT.
• CJ McCollum (personal reasons) is OUT.
• Dejounte Murray (ruptured right Achilles) is OUT.
• Kelly Olynyk (not with team) is OUT.

Series History

So far this season, the Thunder is 2-0 against the Pelicans (1-0 at home, 1-0 on the road). OKC has defeated New Orleans in 4 consecutive meetings.

Why the Thunder Will Cover (-15.5)

OKC is on a 5-game with an average margin of victory of 23.8 points, and that includes their most recent win against a healthy Memphis Grizzlies squad. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have lost 8 straight, and 4 of their last 6 road losses have been by at least 12 points. The Thunder has Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren back in the starting lineup, so for the first time all season long, OKC will have what will likely be their starting 5 headed into the Playoffs. As a result, I’m taking OKC to cover.

Why the Game Will NOT Hit the Over (236)

I expect OKC to score easily against a poor New Orleans defense, but I also think the Thunder holds the Pelicans defensively. This may be another game with a lot of garbage time because of an extended OKC lead, but even still, I think the point total finished under the line.

Staff Picks

On the Season

Name	Moneyline	Spread	Over/Under
Matt	36-14	28-21-1	22-27-1
Zack	42-10	36-16	27-25
Craig	40-10	33-15-2	23-26-1