The New Orleans Pelicans (44-37) welcome the San Antonio Spurs (55-26) to the Smoothie King Center to the regular season comes to an end. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Apr. 15 and will air on FSN-SW and FSN-NO.
The Pelicans were victorious over the Timberwolves 100-88 on Monday. With 24 points and 11 rebounds, Anthony Davis recorded his 41st double-double this season. The Spurs, meanwhile, are coming off a 107-91 win over the Suns on Sunday. Tim Duncan had a good game and claimed his 32nd double-double of the season, recording 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Duncan and Kawhi Leonard have been hot for the Spurs. During that stretch, Duncan has averaged 17.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.6 blocks. Not to be outdone, Leonard has put up 21.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 3.8 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers.
The battle on the backboards could prove decisive, pitting strength against strength. New Orleans is among the league’s elite on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in offensive rebound percentage at 27.2%. Meanwhile, the Spurs rank fourth in the NBA at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebound percentage of 77.3%.
The Pelicans have won two out of three against the Spurs this season, but dropped their most recent game, a close 95-93 loss. In the loss, Davis had a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Pelicans enter the game with records of 44-37 Straight Up (SU) and 45-36 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 7-8 SU and 9-6 ATS against teams from their own division. The Pelicans are an incredibly accurate shooting team from three-point range with a .369 three-point field goal percentage, one of the highest marks in the NBA.
On the other side, San Antonio has a SU record of 55-26 and an ATS record of 41-38-2. Most recently, San Antonio is 8-2 ATS over the last 10 games. The Spurs are shooting lights out so far, with a .467 field-goal percentage that ranks third in the NBA. The Spurs are one of the top defensive teams in the league, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 96.8 points allowed per game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Spurs, who are fourth in the league in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 553 this season.
Following the Spurs’ latest win over New Orleans, their SU record against the Pelicans moves to 7-3 over the last 10 meetings. However, the Pelicans lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. San Antonio topped the Pelicans in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last 10. New Orleans has never had the edge in all categories.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA, ATS Winner – SA
Notes
New Orleans ranks 16th in points per game with 99.2, while San Antonio ranks third in points allowed with an average of 96.8 given up.
The New Orleans Pelicans score 101.5 points per home game this season. However, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed on the road, giving up just 95.8 per game.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a winning record (31-14) when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The San Antonio Spurs are 15-18 when they don’t hit triple digits.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Pelicans are just 13-23 this season. San Antonio is a stellar 40-8 when it hits the century mark.
The Spurs have a defensive rating of 99.4, second-best in the NBA. The Pelicans also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 105.2 (ranked ninth).
With 94.4 possessions and 1.052 points per possession, the New Orleans Pelicans perform worse on both metrics than the San Antonio Spurs. San Antonio averages 97.4 possessions and 1.059 points per possession.
San Antonio has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.7% (ranked fifth in the league}. New Orleans is an underachieving 9-23 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
The San Antonio Spurs, ranked fifth in the NBA, average 24.3 assists per game. The New Orleans Pelicans make 22.0 assists (ranked 11th).
Among all teams, New Orleans is the best at blocking, registering an average of 6.2 per game. San Antonio ranks slightly lower in total blocks, at eighth (5.4 per game).
New Orleans is ranked ninth when it comes to offensive rebounding. San Antonio ranks eighth in defensive rebounds.
San Antonio averages 8.1 steals per game (ranked 10th). New Orleans is 14-16 when allowing at least 8 steals.
