The San Antonio Spurs (9-2) try to continue their six-game winning streak when they take on the faltering New Orleans Pelicans (1-11) at the Smoothie King Center. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Friday, Nov. 20 and can be seen on ESP, FSN and SA2.
The Pelicans are expecting a better outcome after their 110-103 loss to the Thunder on Wednesday. Ryan Anderson was the team’s leading scorer with 30 points. The Spurs, meanwhile, are coming off a 109-98 win against the Nuggets on Wednesday. Tony Parker was the game’s top scorer, registering 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Pelicans in this one. They rank 29th in the league in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of just 18.8%), while San Antonio is fourth-best in the NBA on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 80.0%). Moreover, the Spurs rank fourth in effective field goal percentage at 51.9%, whereas the suspect field-goal defense of the Pelicans places 29th with opponents connecting at a clip of 53.2%.
The Pelicans have gone 1-11 Straight Up (SU) and 3-9 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 1-6 SU and 2-5 ATS against the Western Conference.
Over on the other bench, the Spurs have 9-2 SU and 7-4 ATS records. Against the Western Conference, San Antonio is 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS. The Spurs convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking second in the league at .480. The Spurs have controlled the glass with an average of 47.1 rebounds per game, fifth in the league. The Spurs are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, leading the NBA at 1.93. Shifting to the other side of the court, the Spurs allow just 91.3 points per game, ranking them first in the league.
The divisional foes meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. New Orleans won the last game in the matchup, but the win was not enough to overtake San Antonio in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. The Pelicans lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
New Orleans is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games.
New Orleans is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans’s last 5 games at home.
New Orleans is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home.
New Orleans is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
New Orleans is 6-19 SU in its last 25 games when playing San Antonio.
San Antonio ranks 10th in points per game with 102.1, while New Orleans ranks 30th in points allowed with an average of 109.9 given up.
San Antonio scores an average of 102.2 points per away game (ranked 10th). New Orleans ranks 30th in points allowed per home game with 115.6.
When opponents score fewer than 100 points, the San Antonio Spurs are a perfect 8-0 this season. When they score fewer than 100 points, the New Orleans Pelicans are a winless 0-8.
Both San Antonio and New Orleans have losing records when they allow and score at least 100 points, respectively. The Spurs are 1-2 in the former situation, and the Pelicans are 1-3 in the latter.
The Pelicans have a defensive rating of 110.5 (ranked 30th), while the Spurs rank sixth for their offensive rating of 105.2.
The San Antonio Spurs have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking second with a FG% of 48.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the New Orleans Pelicans are winless with a 0-5 record.
San Antonio ranks near the top of the league in assists at second (26.4 assists per game). New Orleans is ranked 13th, with 21.6 assists per game.
New Orleans makes an average of 4.8 blocks per game (ranked 17th). San Antonio ranks higher in blocks with 6.6 (ranked third).
The New Orleans Pelicans are among the worst offensive rebounding teams (ranked 28th), while the San Antonio Spurs are one of the NBA’s top defensive rebounding teams (ranked second).
The New Orleans Pelicans make an average of 7.5 steals per game. When the San Antonio Spurs allow 7 or more steals, they are a superb 6-2.
