NBA: Golden State Warriors VS New Orleans Pelicans Pick and Predictions 11/21/2022

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Monday, November 21st, 2022

Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Where to Watch: NBA TV

Warriors: 7-9, 11th place Western Conference

Pelicans: 9-7, 9th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pelicans -5.5; O/U 230.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pelicans -6; O/U 230.5

Fanduel: Point Spread:  Pelicans -5.5; O/U 230.5

Warriors: SF Andrew Wiggins, PF Draymond Green, C Kevon Looney, SG Klay Thompson, PG Stephen Curry

Pelicans: SF Brandon Ingram, PF Zion Williamson, C Jonas Valanciunas, SG CJ McCollum, PG Herbert Jones

An NBA Western Conference matchup between two teams we all thought would be higher in the standings by now.  The Western Conference is oddly topsy turvy this year with the Jazz, Grizzlies, and Trail Blazers currently sitting in the top-three spots!  Two of those teams were not predicted to belong anywhere outside of the lottery but they are making the early part of the schedule work. There is a growing feeling that some of the good teams have yet to find their footing and will rocket up the standings when they do… but we will have to see it to believe it. The Golden State Warriors are last season’s Champs… and while they lost some players over the off-season… those were mostly bench guys that played impactful but short minutes.  The thinking was that the Warriors would bring back the KEY GUYS while elevating an entire crop of young, exciting, talented players that the whole league was envious of last season.  It has not worked yet. The Warriors KEY GUYS are beginning to look old, except PG Stephen Curry… the young guys are not yet fulfilling their promise to build a new dynasty.  A trade could be in the works… or maybe the team is just experiencing growing pains.  The New Orleans Pelicans get to double dip this season… due to a trade with the Lakers 3 seasons ago (you may have heard of it)... The Pelicans can win as much as they like and still get the Lakers great draft pick come draft time… the current need of the Pelicans is to start that incredible winning.  They have all the pieces… SF Ingram, SG McCollum, and PF Zion Williamson.  Add a deep bench to those guys and we should have “contenders”... but they aren’t quite there yet at just 9-7 for 9th place. Health has been a problem… but so has defensive inconsistency.  If they wind up with the #1 pick in 2023 because of the Lakers’ mounting losses?... We are looking at a dynasty built around a 7’4 French teenager that is touted as the next Kareem Abdul Jabbar.  

The Golden State Warriors are in flux.  They have all felt the sting of losing and changes are being made.  C James Wiseman a former #2 pick in the 2020 draft, who is loaded with promise, has not been productive while on an NBA court… he is shaking off rust from missing most of his NBA career while on the injury list… has been sent down to the G-League to get reps.  He had 18 points in his G-League debut (only 20 minutes) but still showed the defensive miscues that destroys the Warriors while he is the floor in the “show”.  His development may just turn the entire team around… we will see.   They won their last game against the New York Knicks 111-101.. With a game against Houston left to play Sunday night… That should be another easy win BTW.  The Pelicans are not New York or Houston.  The Warriors are 4th in scoring and should make a game out of any matchup.. The key is to get them back to the #1 defensive spot they were at last season… currently they are 28th (a BIG fall) in stopping opponents scoring.

The New Orleans Pelicans are also in flux.  This team has missed SF Brandon Ingram for a couple of games.. They have missed PF Zion Williamson for a couple of games… and they have missed G/F Herbert Jones, last season’s breakout undrafted rookie, for a few games at different times.  That has drastically hurt cohesion.  Another problem is that CJ McCollum is averaging a few less points this year than last… the season is young and a great shooter like CJ should get back on track. They lost their last game to the Boston Celtics (but everyone is losing to Boston right now) (also it was preceded by a 3-game winning streak) 117-109.  A loss ATS.  In the loss Brandon Ingram got 25 pts, 7 asts, 2 rbs… CJ McCollum added 18 pts, 5 rbs, 3 asts.  PF Zion Williamson missed the matchup with more foot trouble… he is expected to play Monday against the Warriors, but who knows?... Something to watch closely is that if the Lakers earn the #1 pick FOR the Pelicans… The Pelicans may trade Zion out of reflex.  It would be the smartest thing to do.  They could build around the new guy AND reload the cupboards with picks… and the headache of when Zion will miss games?.. could be gone forever.

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GSW: 7-9, 6-10 ATS, 8-6-2 O/U, 0-8 on the road.

NOP: 9-7, 8-8 ATS, 9-7 O/U, 5-3 in road games.

The Warriors are 4th in scoring with 117.1 per game, 23rd in rebounds with 42 per game, 11th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 26th in blocks with 3.8.

The Pelicans are 6th in scoring with 116.2 points per game, 10th in rebounds with 44.7 per game, 4th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9, and 23rd in blocks with 4.2 per game.  

Our prediction for Monday, November 21st is…. Pelicans 119 - Warriors 112

The Pelicans should have Zion playing which will give Draymond Green fits on the blocks.  And even if they don’t… the Pelicans are stool scoring more than the Warriors can handle on defense at the moment.  Bet on the Pelicans.  The spread shouldn’t be too tough to overcome.

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(will update)

Warriors: PF Draymond Green.  Draymond doesn’t score a lot.. He never has… his part of the game is defense and leadership… he has struggled more on both those strengths than any other season outside of his rookie season.

Pelicans: SF Brandon Ingram.  Brandon was a star on the rise that stopped at “almost star” and hasn’t really risen since.  Still his offensive consistency is a thing to behold.  He is an easy 20 points… with a backbone like that the team can always stay competitive.

Warriors: Steve “Lord of the Rings” Kerr

Pelicans: Willie “gimme some of those rings” Green