The Indiana Pacers travel to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night NBA action at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
After the Indiana Pacers lost Victor Oladipo to a season-ending knee injury, the team suffered four straight losses. But the Pacers finally ended the slide with a 95-88 win over the Miami Heat this past Saturday. With the win, the Pacers hope to salvage their season and get back on the winning track.
The Pacers are 22nd in the league in scoring at 107.9 points per game. Indiana is ranked 7th in passing at 25.9 assists per game and 23rd in rebounding at 43.5 boards per contest. Indiana’s strength though this season is their top-ranked scoring defense which allows just 103.6 points per game.
Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans 2/4/19
Moneyline Odds: Pacers -118, Pelicans -102
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 2/4/19
The New Orleans Pelicans are in a crisis after superstar Anthony Davis recently demanded to be traded. The Pelicans have been playing without Davis because of a finger injury but the Brow is probably out for good after making his request. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have lost seven out of their last nine and their playoff aspirations are disappearing fast.
The Pelicans rank 3rd in the league in offense at 116.2 points per game but are only 26th in scoring defense at 114.9 points per game allowed. New Orleans is also 4th in the entire NBA passing at 26.8 assists per game and are also 6th in rebounding at 46.8 boards grabbed per contest.
The Pacers are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played. Indiana is 1-3 SU in their last four road games. The Pelicans are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. New Orleans is 0-3 SU in their last three home games. Head to head, the Pacers are 7-3 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Pelicans. Indiana is also 5-2 SU in their last seven games played in New Orleans.
The Pelicans are missing several key players in this game but perhaps none more important than Anthony Davis. Davis may have played his last games as a Pelican after asking to be traded. That development has certainly put a dagger in the Pelicans’ 2018-19 campaign and may have already broken their backs. The longer the situation drags, it appears that the All-Star game will be AD’s final home appearance at the Smoothie King Center.
Both teams are without their top player and top scorer. But the Pelicans are missing more than Anthony Davis. They are also without Nikola Mirotic, Julius Randle, E’Twaun Moore and Elfrid Payton. That’s too much against a team like the Pacers who, although struggling, have a deep rotation and balanced scoring. The Pelicans rely much on their scoring but without key players, I’ll take the road team here.
I’m picking the Indiana Pacers to beat the New Orleans Pelicans on 2/4/19.
Indiana is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Pacers are 1-3 ATS in their last four road games played. New Orleans is 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Pelicans are 1-2 ATS in their last three home games. Head to head, the Pelicans are 5-0 ATS in their last five meetings against the Pacers but Indiana is 5-2 ATS in their last seven head to head games played in New Orleans.
Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans 2/4/19
Spread Odds: Pacers -1 (-109), Pelicans +1 (-109)
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 2/4/19
Indiana is 15-7 ATs in their last 22 Monday games, 2-7 ATS in their last nine road games and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. New Orleans is 4-0 ATS in their last four Monday games, 3-2 ATS in their last five games against the Pelicans and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Pelicans are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against the Pacers but Indiana os 5-2 ATS in their last seven meetings in New Orleans. In a game between Indiana’s defense and New Orleans’ offense, I’ll take Pacers because the Pelicans are without AD.
Prediction: Pacers -1
The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Pacers. Indiana has seen the under go 3-1 in their last four road games. The over is 3-2 in the last five games played by the Pelicans but the under is 7-3 in their last 10 home games played. Head to head, The under is also 8-2 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams. The under is 5-1 in their last six meetings in New Orleans.
Indiana Pacers vs New Orleans Pelicans 2/4/19
Over/Under Odds: Over 217.5 -109, Under 217.5 -109
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 2/4/19
The under is 8-3 in the Pelicans’ last 11 home games and the under is 7-2 in the last nine games of Indiana. As I said earlier, this game is between Indiana playing good defense and the Pelicans showing good offense this season. But with the Pelicans missing key players on offense, I’ll take my chances with the under.
Prediction: Under 217.5
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