NBA: Portland Trail Blazers VS New Orleans Pelicans Pick and Predictions 11/10/2022

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Thursday, November 10th, 2022

Venue:  Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Blazers: 7-3, 3rd place Western Conference

Pelicans: 5-5, 8th place Western Conference

Caesars:  Point Spread: Pelicans -6.5; O/U 226

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pelicans -6.5; O/U 225.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pelicans -6.5; O/U 226

Blazers: PF Jerami Grant, SF Josh Hart, C Jusuf Nurkic, PG Damian Lilliard, SG Anfernee Simons

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

A Western Conference matchup between teams with suddenly very bright futures.  Last season the Portland Trail Blazers totally imploded.  They were among the dregs of the league with PG Damian Lilliard missing most of the season with an abdominal injury and X Jusuf Nurkic missing a lot of the season (as he has done most of his career).  The team had little hope of getting better other than to flip the script.  They did.  They traded SG CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans.  CJ was great on Portland’s roster… clearly the second best player after PG Damian Lilliard but he simply didn’t fit next to Damian because both players basically do the same things well… They both need the ball and the shots from 3.  The trade re3-worked the roster and helped discover that SG Anfernee Simons is a good replacement for CJ… plus they got players and picks.  They started the season 7-3 instantly rebuilt and ready to win games.  The New Orleans Pelicans were an exciting playoff team last season… they are loaded with talent and deep, deep, deep.  They started the season 5-5 because they seem to have a different starting five every single game!  Not because they want to but because SF Brabndonn Ingram missed a few games with injury, PF Zion Williamson missed a few games with injury and special “Zion precautionary measures”, and Devonte Graham has been wishy washy when on the floor.  As a result Herbert Jones (last season’s big discovery) has played PF, SF , and now will get a shot at PG.  However… The important Pelicans are all on the floor again.  They will soon improve on their 5-5 easily.

The Portland Trail Blazers won their last game against the Miami Heat 110-107… it was a loss ATS… but still a win. PG Damian Lilliard had 19 points in 34 minutes as he managed pain… SG Anfernee Simons had 25 points and PF Jerami Grant had 23 points… The scary thing for Portland is, effective when he plays, Center Jusuf Nurkic finished with 4 points in 28 minutes and a -11 +/- stat.  He left the game with a groin injury and may not play against New Orleans… and seeing as he has often missed games from injury they SHOULD hold him out to protect him.  The Blazers have found a really good balance of young athletes to pair with Damian Lilliard… Simons and Grant are paying dividends, Josh Hart is useful in the small forward position.  Now that Portland has gone down the road of winning they need to keep it up… Once they get too many wins it will be hard to get back into the race for the #1 draft pick this year.

The New Orleans Pelicans lost their last game against the Indiana Pacers 129-122.  The Pelicans scored really well… but their defensive rotations were off kilter all night.  It makes sense considering the team has a new best player on the floor in PF Zion Williamson and hardly any of the guys have played more than a few games with him.  It will take time to get that all straight, but they won’t have trouble getting points… Zion had 26, Ingram 29… while CJ McCollum had his worst showing with just 9 points.  The big guys will have to find CJ more often on kick-outs in order not to waste his staggering shooting ability… which is absolutely a message they have all heard the day after that loss.  The Pelicans have one of the best things going of any team/fan base… They can win as many games as they want and will still be in the hunt for #1 pick Victor Wembanyama come draft time… because they have the right to swap picks with the Lakers… The Lakers are currently 2-8 for 14th place in the Western Conference and among the bottom three teams in the whole league.  Each Laker loss is a very big high five in New Orleans.

Nelly’s Sports is 5-1 in NBA picks the last 7 days for a profit of $3,900!! You should be following a handicapper all season long! Get Nelly’s Sports  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. BigAl.com can help you with all your bets from NCAAF, NFL, MLB, NHL… get positive value from all your bets! Remember: winning a bet is way more fun than making a bet!

 

The Blazers are 22nd in scoring with 109.8 points per game, 19th in rebounds with 43.7 per game, 26th in AST/TO ratio with 1.4, and 22nd in blocks with 4.3 per game.

The Pelicans are 1st in scoring with 118.5 points per game, 6th in rebounds with 45.8 per game, 4th in AST/TO ratio with 2.0, and 27th in blocked shots with 3.9 per game. 

Our prediction for Thursday, November 10th is….  Pelicans 125 - Trail Blazers 100

Bet on the Pelicans!  Blow-out alert.  Currently the Blazers roster is going through what the Pelicans roster went through last week… They are all dinged up!  PG Damian Lilliard and SG Anfernee Simons,= are listed as Probable with lingering pains.. While C Jusuf Nurkic and Of Jerami Grant are listed as Questionable with lingering pains.  At the same time the Pelicans have returned to full strength… (except PG Kira Lewis Jr, who has never actually not been injured)... and Full strength means Zion running over guys and Brandon Ingram shooting over guys!   

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Trail Blazers/Pelicans  Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this  preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

The Pelicans are 24-18 ATS versus Portland since 1996.
The Pelicans are 2-1 ATS versus Portland at Portland the last 3 seasons.

Trail Blazers:  SF Josh Hart.  Josh is a SG who came to Portland from New Orleans.  In New Orleans he barely played much… Now in Portland he is starting at the small forward spot and averaging 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 36 minutes a game.  He won’t be an all-star with those numbers… but he plays now and it is for a surprisingly winning team.

Pelicans: SG CJ McCollum.  CJ was a star SG already when he came over from Portland.. Now he is still a star and the de facto team leader.  He is averaging 20 pts, 5 rbs, ,and 6 asts in 35 minutes a game. As the leader of a deep and talented team… Will he unload on his former team?

Blazers: Chauncey “Mr Big Shot” Billups

Pelicans: Willie “I played with Iverson!” Green