NBA: New Orleans Pelicans vs Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 10/30/2022

Game: 3:10 PM ET, Sunday, October 30th

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Pelicans: 3-2, 9th place Western Conference

Clippers: 2-3, 12th place Western Conference

DraftKings:  Point Spread: Clippers -2.5; O/U 225.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -3; O/U 225.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -3; O/U 225.5

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

Clippers: PG Reggie Jackson, SG Paul George, SF Norman Powell, PF Marcus Morris SR, C Ivica Zubac

A Western Conference battle of teams that expect the Playoffs and more based on the strength of their rosters.  Vegas also thinks these are both Playoff teams if not downright Finals Contenders (in 1 case). The reason for the slow start for both teams… injury.  Chronic Injury is the beating drum that both these teams hear every time they take the court.  The Pelicans are currently missing their best player of the last 3 seasons SF Brandon Ingram… a kid they got as part of a multiplayer and pick trade with the Lakers for PF/C Anthony Davis (remember?)... Brandon has outplayed Anthony Davis in the ensuing 3 years… but now he is tentatively on the shelf.  Plus as usual PF Zion Williamson (the #1 pick, greatest player ever) is again day to day with a shut down date looming… Good thing they gave him a Max rookie extension! The Clippers on the other hand have been waiting for SF Kawhi Leonard to get healthy for what feels like years… because it has been.  Kawhi is not going to ever get fully healthy he has a chronic knee condition.  Changes in perspective must be made.  The Clippers are also playing without PF Marcus Morris SR who is OUT at the moment.  Both these teams have an embarrassment of depth… but that depth only works if the team itself is able to get into a groove of knowing who is going to start and who is going to play…. Everything else is just a 3-card monty… a constant shuffle and where it lands nobody knows.

The New Orleans Pelicans were last season's FUN playoff team!  They won some games and were full of smiles after literally discovering NBA nobodies, but defensive studs PF Herbert Jones and PG Jose Alvarado. They also got great play from SG CJ McCollum whom they got from Portland at the trade deadline and immediately turned into a very effective star.  Everyone played well and everyone had fun!.  This season is not a bad start, they are 3-2.  They have beaten Dallas, Charlotte, and Brooklyn… while losing to the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz (weird Jazz team you guys!).  But now the injury list is riddled with Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Herbert Jones, … and the forever mystery PG Kira Lewis Jr.  Kira was a draft lottery pick who simply doesn’t play because of a rookie injury on his way into the league… Will he ever?.. It’s been 18 months!  The Pelicans are currently and will suffer from having guys on the court that they don’t really want to play… like C Jaxson Hayes (a waste of NBA space), G/F Garrett Temple (an uneven journeyman), and Trey Murphy III (a soft defensive player whose offense doesn’t compensate enough).  What we do know is this team is scoring very well… Brandon and Zion aren’t out forever… and they still have a bright future.

The Los Angeles Clippers have started the season badly, especially since Vegas made them the favorite to make the Finals from the Western Conference.  This team has everything.  Shooting, defense, board crashers, multiple guys capable of 20+ points on any given night.  Solid vets, capable young guys who need more playing time (Terance Mann, Amir Coffey, Brandon Boston Jr)... They ultimately suffer from FLOW.  They never know if their star and Max paid player Kawhi Leonard will feel up to playing.  This uncertainty has created a roster in constant flux.  No flow achieved.  Going forward it is up to management and coaching to make a hard decision.  Since Kawhi Leonard can’t play back to backs… needs to be constantly monitored… the team should make the switch.  Kawhi should  become the Clippers 6th man.  He should never get more than 20 minutes a night outside of an NBA Finals.  That would place control of the team in Paul George’s hands… with certainty in Norman Powell’s mind… and it would allow Terrance Mann and Luke Kennard to know how many minutes to prepare for on average.  It doesn’t seem like the right answer, but it is.  Kawhi is on his last NBA Contract.  The Clipper have 2-3 seasons left of him.  Just prepare from here on in as if Kawhi is whipped cream on ice cream.  Great if you have it… but no reason not to love the ice cream if you don’t.  The Clippers just lost back to back games at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder… a travesty that demands accountability.  If Tye can’t fix this runaway train soon… he isn’t the right guy for the job.  The Clippers are on a 3-game losing streak.  

 

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NOP: 3-2, 3-2 ATS, 5-0 O/U, 2-1 in road games.

LAC: 2-3, 1-4 ATS, 1-4 O/U, 0-1 in home games.

The Pelicans are 4th in scoring with 119.8 points per game, 20th in rebounds with 43.6 per game, 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 22nd in blocks with 4.2 per game.

The Clippers are 29th in scoring with 102.6 per game, 7th in rebounds with 46.4 per game, 30th in AST/TO ratio with 1.1, 11th in blocks with 5.8 per game.

Our prediction for Sunday, October 30th is…. Clippers 114 - Pelicans 112

Since Brandon Ingram is out of this one and Zion is Questionable (which means reduced minutes if he plays at all) it is most likely that the home team Clippers use their experience to eek out a win.

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New Orleans is 50-29 ATS against the Clippers since 1996.

New Orleans is 3-1 ATS versus the Clippers in LA over the last 3 seasons.

Pelicans: SG CJ McCollum.  CJ is this Pelican team’s real star.  Zion and Brandon have the spotlight as the youth, but CJ is the barometer for success.  His scoring muscle has yet to go off big this season.

Clippers: SF Terance Mann.  Terence has proven year after year as a guy ready for hustle plays and big moments off the bench.  His minutes have been inconsistent because of the multiple all-star in front of him in the line-up.  If he can do more with starter minutes it would be a Giant plus for the Clippers.

Pelicans: Nate “Mr intense” McMillan

Clippers: Tye “Let’s do this” Lue