by Amedeus Mastrangelo
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2022
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, April 7, 2022
Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Where to Watch: BSNO
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Point Spread: Trail Blazers +16.5, Pelicans -16.5; Over/Under: 223.5 points
Bet365: Point Spread: Trail Blazers +16, Pelicans -16; Over/Under: 223 points
BetMGM: Point Spread: Trail Blazers +16.5, Pelicans -16.5; Over/Under: 223.5 points
Season Record
Portland Trail Blazers: 27-52 (4th place, Northwest Division)
New Orleans Pelicans: 35-44 (3rd place, Southwest Division)
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Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans Preview and Analysis
Recent Form
Portland Trail Blazers: 1-9 last 10
New Orleans Pelicans: 7-3 last 10
Portland Trail Blazers Analysis
The Trail Blazers are coming into this game with a 27-52 record overall and they are 10-29 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They have lost 12 of their last 13 games and are coming into this one on an 8 game losing streak. Their last win was against the Detroit Pistons while their 8 losses since then came against the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets twice, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the New Orleans Pelicans, the Spurs again twice, and the Thunder again in their last game. Keon Johnson led the team in points in that game with 18 while Greg Brown and Ben McLemore off the bench were both next on the team with 17 points each. Kris Dunn led the team in assists in that game with 8 and he also led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 42.2% from the field, 34.4% from 3-point range, and 81.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 107.1 PPG and their defense is averaging their opponents to average 114.8 PPG against them. The Trail Blazers have an ATS record of 30-48-1 this season and their O/U record is 37-41-1.
New Orleans Pelicans Analysis
The Pelicans are coming into this game with a 35-44 record overall and they are 18-21 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Los Angeles Clippers while their 4 wins in that span came against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Lakers again, and the Sacramento Kings in their last game. Jaxson Hayes and CJ McCollum both led the team in points in that game with 23 each while Brandon Ingram was next on the team with 17 points. Ingram led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Hayes and Willy Hernangómez both led the team in rebounds with 12 each. They were 51.1% from the field, 48% from 3-point range, and 80.8% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 109 PPG and their defense is averaging their opponents to average 109.9 PPG against them. The Pelicans have an ATS record of 40-38-1 this season and their O/U record is 32-47.
Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction
The Trail Blazers have been awful in their recent games coming into this one. They have lost their last 8 straight games and they have been losing a lot of these games by double digits, with their only single digit loss coming in their last game against the Thunder. They are going up against a Pelicans team that is coming off of a win in their last game and has already clinched a spot in the play-in tournament. They have won 3 of their last 4 games and 2 of those wins were by double digits as well. The Pelicans do not need to win this game as they cannot really move up in the standings but the Trail Blazers have been so bad recently that the Pelicans will likely win this game by double digits anyway. The Trail Blazers are sitting most of their players for the rest of the season and they really have no highly skilled players out there for them. The Pelicans will win this game by double digits.
Portland Trail Blazers New Orleans Pelicans Prediction: Our NBA Pick for Thursday, April 7, 2022 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Pelicans 123 Trail Blazers 106.
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NBA Betting Trends
Portland Trail Blazers: 32-47 ATS in all games. 19-34 ATS as an underdog. 16-7 OVER as an underdog of 10 or more points.
New Orleans Pelicans: 10-4 ATS as a home favorite. 26-18 ATS off a road win. 35-25 OVER as a favorite of 10 or more points.
Key Injuries
Portland Trail Blazers: B. Williams (PG) Ques Thurs - Quadricep injury. T. Watford (SF) Mid April - Knee injury. J. Winslow (SF) Out indefinitely - Calf injury. E. Bledsoe (PG) out for season - Achilles injury. J. Nurkic (C) out for season - Foot injury. A. Simons (SG) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. J. Hart (SG) Mid April - Knee injury. D. Lillard (PG) out for season - Abdominal injury. J. Ingles (SF) out for season - Knee injury. N. Little (SF) out for season - Shoulder injury.
New Orleans Pelicans: J. Valanciunas (C) Ques Thurs - Ankle injury. Z. Williamson (PF) Out indefinitely - Foot injury. K. Lewis Jr. (PG) out for season - Knee injury.
Notable Quotes
"That Jaylen Hoard kid -- he played his behind off, man. We couldn't do anything about him the entire night, the entire game. He took advantage of everybody that was in front of him. You've got to give him credit." - Chauncey Billups after his team’s loss against the Thunder on Tuesday night.
“It’s beautiful to see we’ve given ourselves an opportunity to have an extended season. Nobody wants to go 1-12 or whatever we were. It made us tougher, it made us stronger. More importantly it made us more connected.” - Willie Green after his team clinched a playoff spot with a win against the Kings on Tuesday night.
Starting Lineups
Portland Trail Blazers
PG Brandon Williams
SG Keon Johnson
SF CJ Elleby
PF Greg Brown III
C Drew Eubanks
New Orleans Pelicans
PG CJ McCollum
SG Brandon Ingram
SF Herbert Jones
PF Jaxson Hayes
C Willy Hernangomez
Statistical Leaders
Portland Trail Blazers
PPG: D. Lillard (24)
APG: D. Lillard (7.3)
Reb/G: J. Nurkic (11.1)
New Orleans Pelicans
PPG: B. Ingram (22.7)
APG: B. Ingram (5.6)
Reb/G: J. Valanciunas (11.6)
Coaches:
Portland Trail Blazers: Chauncey Billups (1st season)
New Orleans Pelicans: Willie Green (1st season)
Amedeus Mastrangelo
About the Author:
Amedeus Mastrangelo has been heavily wagering on all sports for years and plays just about everything, including sides, totals, favorites, underdogs, against the spread, alternative spreads, first half, second half, player props, and futures. The bottom line is, if Mastrangelo can see an edge in any way shape or form, then he's going to take advantage.
