Saturday afternoon sets the stage for Game 3 as the Pelicans enter as a slight underdog. Still missing Zion Williamson, New Orleans needs something special as they try to work towards evening up the series, but OKC seemed much more focused in Game 2, so that could be a difficult undertaking. The Thunder don’t want to give the Pelicans even an inkling of hope, so they need to start this one where they left off on Wednesday and take care of business early.
Home court advantage goes a long way in the playoffs, but I’m not sure New Orleans has enough of it to push the Pelicans over the edge. Game 2 looked a lot closer to what people expected in this series as opposed to Game 1, but that’s not to say the Pelicans should be overlooked. The Thunder need to take quality shots like they did on Wednesday, and as long as they stay out of foul trouble and stay locked in on defense, I have a hard time giving New Orleans a win.
View More Thunder Against the Spread | OKC Just a Slight Favorite in NOLA
New Orleans has ridden a wave of varied levels of success for much of the season, and they are trending upward lately. Since sitting at 26-21 towards the end of January, the Pelicans have won 18 of their last 24 to move to 5th in the Western Conference standings with a record of 44-27. A win tonight over the Thunder would move them up to 4th ahead of the Clippers.
View More Oklahoma City Thunder | Game #71 Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
I’m kind of shocked at how little OKC is favored. The Pelicans have been solid lately, and I know the Thunder suffered a pretty ugly loss in Milwaukee on Sunday, but even though this one is in New Orleans, the Thunder are the better team. On top of that, the Pelicans are still missing Brandon Ingram. I think Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas will get plenty of rebounds, but OKC’s backcourt is far superior, and they’re due for a good shooting night after the atrocity that took place on Sunday. I’m taking the Thunder.
View More Thunder Against the Spread | OKC Given Slight Edge Over Pelicans in NOLA
The regular season is all wrapped up, and the Oklahoma City Thunder far surpassed preseason expectations as they managed to win 40 games and sneak their way into the Play-In Tournament. OKC is as healthy as they can be at this point in the season as they travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans in the 9/10 game.
View More OKC Thunder | Play-In Game #1 Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
For the first few years of his career, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was not the most efficient scorer. He’s consistently been pretty good at scoring in and around the paint, but his three-point shooting has fluctuated quite a bit. Lately, however, Shai has been scoring at an incredibly efficient rate, all while not shooting much from beyond the perimeter. On Friday night against the Blazers, SGA managed 44 points on just 16 shots from the floor, primarily because of his ability to get deep into the paint, thus making his way to the free throw line. Because of the efficiency with which he has been playing, OKC has been scoring more as a whole, and everybody has benefited on the offensive side of the ball. I think that will play a big role in tonight’s matchup with the Pelicans, giving OKC the edge at home.
View More Thunder Against the Spread | OKC Favored at Home Against Ailing Pelicans
Let’s just pretend that Saturday’s game in Houston never happened. OKC should come out against the Pelicans with much better energy, and I anticipate the Thunder backcourt to thrive since the Pelicans should be missing Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. I don’t know if OKC wins this one because Zion Williamson and Jonas Valanciunas will surely give the Thunder fits, but it’ll be close for sure.
View More Thunder Against the Spread | Expect a Light Show in NOLA
The Oklahoma City Thunder put on their worst performance of the season on Saturday in a 118-105 loss in Houston to the Rockets, a game that was never even close. The Thunder hopes to put that one in the past, however, as they travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans on Monday night.
View More Oklahoma City Thunder | Game #21 Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
The Oklahoma City Thunder is riding a two-game winning streak after mounting a 16-point comeback at home on Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs to move to 3-6 on the season. Tonight, they take on the NBA’s worst record in the New Orleans Pelicans.
View More Oklahoma City Thunder | Game #10 Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City is back at home where they’re only covering the spread 45% of the time this season. As a home underdog that number decreases to 42% and when facing teams that have won 45-55% of its games the Thunder are only covering the spread 41% of the time.
View More Thunder Against The Spread | Memphis Has A Clear Advantage Tonight