NBA: New Orleans Pelicans VS Washington Wizards Pick and Predictions 01/09/2023

Game: 6:10 PM ET,  Monday, January 9th, 2023

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington DC

TV:  NBA League Pass

Pelicans:

Wizards:

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Wizards -1.5, O/U 227.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Wizards -1, O/U 227.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Wizards -1.5, O/U 227.5

Pelicans: 24-16, 3rd place Western Conference

Wizards: 17-23, 11th place Eastern Conference

An NBA inter conference battle between one of the best of the West…. And one of the afterthoughts of the East.  The Pelicans have everything going for them this season. 2 young, powerfully talented forwards… a big time shooting guard… and depth everywhere on the court.  The problem of late is they have been missing those two powerfully talented forwards.  PF Zion Williamson was making a case for MVP of the league with his incredibly efficient shooting percentages and the surefire ease of grabbing a double double whenever he wanted one.  Zion is a wrecking ball… but he won’t be in that MVP conversation… because like every other year of his career he will be missing more than a month of time… if not longer.  The other powerfully talented forward is SF Brandon Ingram… the guy who averaged more than 20 points a game in all those seasons that Zion missed games since he came over from the Los Angeles Lakers 3 seasons ago.  Those guys missing time at the same time has hobbled the Pelicans.  The Washington Wizards on the other hand have a ton of talent in SF Kyle Kuzma, SG Bradley Beal, and C Kristaps Porzingis… yet like every other Porzingis team (Knicks, Mavs)... they can’t seem to get everybody on the same page for a solid run of winning.  This is also similar to the entire history of the Wizards period.  Winning is tough in DC.  To make matters worse SG Bradley Beal is again on the injury list.  Beal will go down as a cautionary tale for GMs all over the league.  He could have been traded 3 seasons ago when he was very hot on the market… The Heat, Bulls, Lakers, Knicks, all wanted him… The Raptors, 76ers, Mavs, all needed him… He could have brought two mid-level starters, salary cap relief and multiple first round picks… Now they could get a player and a pick with maybe some second rounders thrown in and that is about it… because of the constant injury table time.  The great betting opportunity in this one will be found in the point spread.  Let’s check the numbers and decide who should win and by how much?

The New Orleans Pelicans have won 6 of their last 10 games. BUT since the injury problems to Zion have reared their head they have only won 1 of their last 5 games.  With Ingram and Zion out at the same time,. This franchise is very vulnerable.  They lost their last game to the Dallas Mavericks 127-117 losing ATS which was a generous to the Pelicans 8.5.  In that game they watched as Dallas PG Luka Doncic torched them for a triple double of 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists!  New Orleans responded with 25, 10, and 3 from C Jonas Valanciunas and 24, 2, and 4 from SF Naji Marshall.  But it was all too little too late.  Valanciunas had a good game but at the same time gave up 28 points to Dallas’s PF/C Christian Wood, totally negating it.

The Washington Wizards have also won 6 of their last ten games as F Kyle Kuzma has slowly been taking control of this squad from Beal and Porzingis. They are however on a 2-game losing streak that coincides with the absence of Beal.  In their last game the Wizards lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 127-110… and an embarrassing loss ATS as well.  In that game they got 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists from SF Kyle Kuzma… (numbers the Lakers would love to have instead of Russell Westbrook).. 4 other wizards scored in the low double figures; Porzingis 14, Gafford 15, Morris 10, and Will Barton 14.  For the umpteenth time Will Barton got a huge statline in very few minutes… 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in just 17 minutes… Barton falls easily into the “trade him or play him” category… but the league is up to their ears in 6’5 Shooting guards so they wouldn’t get much back.  So play him!.. And trade Beal.

 

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NOP: 24-16, 20-20 ATS, 23-17 O/U, 7-11 in road games.

WAS: 17-23, 17-20-3, 19-19-2, 10-7 in home games.

The Pelicans are 4th in scoring with 117.1 per game, 6th in rebounds with 45.5 per game, 20th in AST/TO ratio with 1.7, and 20th in blocks per game with 4.4.

The Wizards are 21st in scoring with 112.1 points per game, 10th in rebounds with 44 per game, 10th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 4th in blocks per game with 5.5.

Our prediction for Monday, January 9th is…. Wizards 115 - Pelicans 111

The Wizards have home court advantage… The Pelicans are soft on the road and discombobulated by injury.  The result will be a close Wizards win.  Bet on the Wizards if the spread is close. And the spread should come out as close to a “pick em’”  if is big either way adjust your bet to this final score.

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Washington is 2-0 ATS versus New Orleans in Washington the last 3 seasons.
Washington is 37-25 ATS versus New Orleans since 1996.
New Orleans is 1-10 ATS off a road loss in the division the last 3 seasons.

Pelicans: SG/SF/PG Herbert Jones.  Herbert went undrafted two years ago and joined the Pelicans as a free agent.  He has made himself completely indispensable.  He plays defense at an extraordinary rate and can be put at multiple positions on the court.  It is also really fun to watch a guy succeed when any team could have had him with a simple late second round pick.  Late second round picks can be purchased at Costco by the 3 pack for $20.

Wizards:  C Kristaps Porzingis.  What in the heck is wrong with Kristaps?  He was the Unicorn when he entered the league with the Knicks… 7’3… amazing wingspan… wild talent.  Yet he is capable of both having big games and being completely invisible.  He is capable of so much more than he does on any given night that it has insiders wondering if he even likes basketball? Some guys don’t have a fire inside and just want those very big paychecks… is he that guy?

Pelicans: Willie “He ready” Green

Wizards: Wes “C’mon guys!” Unseld JR