The New Orleans Pelicans visit the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center on Monday night.
New Orleans is 31-33 SU on the season and they are in 3rd place in the Southwest Division. The Pelicans are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games played and are 1-4 SU in their last five games played on the road. New Orleans is 9th in the latest Western Conference team standings and is just 2 games off the 6th-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves and outright entry in the postseason.
Sacramento is 37-26 SU and they are the current Pacific Division leaders. The Kings are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games played and Sacramento is 3-1 SU in their last four games played at home. They are 3rd in the latest Western Conference team standings but are just two games ahead of the Phoenix Suns.
The Pelicans have won three in a row against the Kings including a 136-104 blowout win at home last February 5th in their most recent head-to-head meeting.
New Orleans has lost two out of their last three games, including a 108-99 defeat on the road against the Golden State Warriors. CJ McCollum led the Pelicans in that game with 25 points. New Orleans opened the game strong and built a 17-point lead in the first half. However, the Dubs rallied to beat them. The Warriors shot 51.3% from the floor while outrebounding the Pelicans 43-29. New Orleans shot only 34.7 from the field and 34.5% from deep.
Jonas Valanciunas is listed as questionable and there are six Pelicans who have been ruled out for Monday’s game:
The Pelicans are 15th in the NBA in scoring at 115.1 points per game. They are 12th in FG percentage at 47.8% from the field. New Orleans is 16th in scoring defense at 113.5 points per game allowed and also 16th on opponents’ FG percentage at 47.4%. They also rank 1st in the league in defending the three-point arc at 33.8% allowed.
The Kings had their five-game winning run snapped by the Minnesota Timberwolves the last time out. Sacramento was beaten at home 138-134 by Minnesota last Saturday. Kevin Huerter led the Kings with 29 points and the team shot well at 55.1% but the Wolves shot better at 60% from the field and 51.3% from downtown.
De’Aaron Fox has been tagged as questionable to play on Monday:
Sacramento is the NBA’s top-scoring team at 121.1 points per game. They are 3rd overall in shooting percentage at 49.8%. The Kings are also 10th in three-point shooting. However, their defense is only 26th overall at 118.1 points per game allowed. They are 29th in opponents’ FG shooting at 49.3% allowed.
The Pelicans are 3-0 SU in their last 3 games played against the Kings. New Orleans is 2-3 SU in their last 5 games played in Sacramento.
New Orleans Pelicans SU trends:
Sacramento Kings SU trends:
The Kings saw their five-game winning streak end against the Minnesota Timberwolves who beat them 138-134 at home last Saturday. Sacramento has not lost back-to-back games since February 5th when well, they were beaten by the Pelicans. Trey Murphy III scored 30 points while making six three-pointers to lead New Orleans to victory.
That victory was part of a five-game stretch where the Pels went 4-1 to solidify their position in the team standings. Since then, however, they have lost five out of their last six games played to fall below the .500 mark. New Orleans will begin a four-game homestand on Wednesday but all four games will be against Western Conference teams holding playoff positions.
The Pelicans once had the lead in the Western Conference earlier this season but they have fallen to the bottom line of the pack with Zion Williamson still out with a hamstring injury. With no clear date as to when, if at all Zion returns, the Pelicans have to find a way to win without him.
The onus falls on Brandon Ingram who scored a season-high 40 points against the Blazers in their last game. Ingram has scored at least 30 points in five out of their last 10 games played. BI did not play when the Pelicans played the Kings last month, but so did De’Aaron Fox.
Like Ingram, Fox has been red hot. The All-Star guard had scored 30 or more points in eight straight games before being limited to only 25 during last Saturday’s loss to the Timberwolves. In that game, it was Kevin Huerter who led the Kings with 29 points.
Sacramento is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006. They have put themselves in a good position to do that as they are 3rd in the latest Western Conference team standings. They have gone 6-3 in a recent stretch against playoff teams and after they play New Orleans on Monday, they have games against the Knicks, Suns, and Bucks so they must not take any game lightly and must win all the games they are supposed to win. I think they will as the Pelicans continue to play without Zion.
Prediction: Sacramento Kings
The Pelicans are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games played against the Kings. New Orleans is 2-3 ATS in their last five games played in Sacramento.
New Orleans Pelicans ATS trends:
Sacramento Kings ATS trends:
Pelicans
+5.5 (-110)
Kings
-5.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/06/2023
The Pelicans are in a tough spot. They are still without Zion and they have been struggling as of late. New Orleans is 1-5 in their last six games played and they have gone 1-4 in their last five on the road. The Pelicans blew out the Kings earlier this year but Sacramento is 4-2 ATS against the spread in their last six games played and 2-2 in their past four at home.
New Orleans has struggled to play on the road this season at 11-22 SU and 12-20-1 ATS. Meanwhile, the Kings have covered four out of their last six games played overall and are playing much better than the Pelicans right now.
Prediction: Sacramento Kings
The total has gone over in two out of the last 3 games played between these two teams. The over is 6-2 in their last 8 games played in Sacramento.
New Orleans Pelicans over/under trends:
Sacramento Kings over/under trends:
Over
238.5 (-110)
Under
238.5 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 03/06/2023
These teams combined to score 40 points in their last head-to-head meeting. But they have scored only a combined 231.3 points per game in their last 10 head-to-head meetings.
Sacramento has seen the total go over 240 in each of their last seven games played. However, the Pelicans have watched the total go over 240 only once in their last 10 games played. I think that this will be a high-scoring game. However, I think the total is too high for these two teams, especially with Zion out.
Prediction: Under 238.5
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