The New Orleans Pelicans (11-11) will have their hands full against the NBA’s top shooting defense when they clash with the Portland Trail Blazers (13-9) at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. The game starts at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 2, 2017.
The Over/Under (O/U) for the game has been set at 208 points with Portland opening as a 3.5-point favorite.
New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trail Blazers Free Prediction
In the Pelicans’ last game, they were topped by the Utah Jazz, 114-108. One of Utah’s largest strengths was getting to the charity stripe. They made 25 trips to the line, while New Orleans went 15 times. DeMarcus Cousins was New Orleans’ high scorer with 23 points on 8-for-21 shooting.
The Trail Blazers fell to the Milwaukee Bucks in their last outing, 103-91. Milwaukee’s turnover percentage was their biggest strength over Portland. The Bucks had a rate of 9.7 (better than their season average of 13.0), while the Trail Blazers posted a mark of 17.4 (above their season average of 13.2). Jusuf Nurkic put together a good performance for Portland, leading the team in scoring with 25 points on 9-for-17 shooting.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. The upper-echelon New Orleans offense ranks fifth in the NBA in that metric at 0.539, while the top-notch Portland defense is ranked first in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.483).
New Orleans holds records of 11-11 straight up (SU) and 12-9 against the spread (ATS). Just over half of the Pelicans’ games have finished under the total.
Meanwhile, Portland owns records of 13-9 SU and 8-11-3 ATS. Vegas has a tendency to place the total high when the Trail Blazers are involved, as 72.7 percent of their games have finished under the total.
Nurkic has averaged 16.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks over the last five games for Portland.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams. Cousins scored a game-high 39 points in the first game, in which the Pelicans lost 103-93, unable to cover as 5-point underdogs. The game finished with a total of 196 points, which was 20.5 points below the projected point total of 216.5 points. Portland out-rebounded New Orleans. The Trail Blazers had 18 offensive rebounds and 63 total rebounds, while the Pelicans had four and 42, respectively.
New Orleans Pelicans at Portland Trail Blazers ATS Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Trail Blazers, ATS Winner – Trail Blazers, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
New Orleans is 7-4 ATS on the road with 6 unders and 5 overs.
Portland is 3-7-2 ATS at home with 10 unders and 2 overs.
In games where they allow less than 100 points, New Orleans is 4-0 and Portland is 9-3.
In games where they score over 100 points, the Trail Blazers are 11-3 and the Pelicans are 9-6.
New Orleans ranks second in assists per game (26.0) while Portland ranks last (18.1).
The Pelicans rank second in points in the paint per game (51.4) while the Trail Blazers rank 25th (40.6).
Portland ranks fourth in fast break points allowed per game (8.5) while New Orleans ranks 25th (13.0).
The Pelicans rank sixth in blocks allowed per game (4.3) while the Trail Blazers rank 26th (5.9).
Portland ranks second in three pointers allowed per game (24.8) while New Orleans ranks 22nd (30.5).
The Trail Blazers rank second in rebounds per game (47.3) while the Pelicans rank 20th in rebounds allowed per game (44.0).
New Orleans ranks 16th in points off turnovers per game (17.6) while Portland ranks 27th (14.7).
The Pelicans rank 17th in steals per game (7.8) while the Trail Blazers rank 26th (6.7).
Portland averages 12.0 second chance points per game, which ranks 16th in the NBA. New Orleans ranks 20th in second chance points allowed per game (12.9).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, New Orleans is 3-2 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs.
Portland is 2-3 ATS with 3 unders and 2 overs over their last five games.
The Pelicans have outscored opponents by an average of 0.4 points in their last five games. For the season, New Orleans has lost by an average of 1.2 points.
During their last five games, the Trail Blazers have scored an average of 102.0 points per game (0.6 below their season average) and allowed an average of 105.0 points per game (6.0 above their season average).
