Game Time: 9:30 PM ET, Wednesday, April 13th, 2022 

Venue:   Smoothie King Center, New Orleans Louisiana

Where to Watch: TNT

DraftKings:  Spread:  Pelicans -5; O/U 228.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Pelicans -5.5; O/U 228.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Pelicans -5.5; O/U 228.5

Spurs: 34-47, 10th place Western Conference

Pelicans: 36-45, 9th place Western Conference

The 9th vs 10th place Western Conference teams will battle it out in the NBA PLAY-IN Tournament.  The loser goes home. The Winner gets to play again… before going home.  Just kidding, but not really.  How the play-in tournament works is that the winner of this game gets to play the loser of the 7th vs 8th place… if this winner wins again.  They will be given a full-fledged NBA playoff series.  It is possible that the San Antonio Spurs.. A team with very few players of any quality on the roster… A team with an ancient coach clinging to old-fashioned basketball… A team with no Center capable of playing let alone starting in the NBA… could get the honor of facing the Phoenix Suns in a 7 game series… that will last 4 games,, just kidding again… but not really.  The San Antonio Spurs do not deserve any postseason play.  They were bad this year.  They finished 13 games BELOW .500.  They are looking forward to the NBA draft lottery more than the play-in game… but still rules are rules… and since the Los Angeles Lakers were more terrible than a team that finished 13 games BELOW .500… the Spurs get to stay and play.  The New Orleans Pelicans are not the same team that started this season terribly.  To begin with, the Pelicans did not have PF Zion Williamson and PG Kira Lewis JR.  Both young guys, both advertised as future stars, both missed the entire season.  If the team was smart they would both be put into a 3-4 team trade.  The fans of New Orleans deserve at least a few seasons of watching their players actually play before they demand trades or walk completely as free agents. What turned it all around for the Pelicans was a trade deadline acquisition of SG CJ McCollum who is showing the young dudes in street clothes what a star actually looks like.  CJ immediately became the team’s best player while taking a lot of pressure off of the second best player, SF Brandon Ingram.  C Jonas Valanciunas is also a real deal player… he’s no Steven Adams… but who is?

The San Antonio Spurs have won 7 of their last ten games.  They went 9-1 ATS during that stretch.  This Spurs team benefitted the most from facing Portland THREE TIMES during their last ten games.  The NBA schedule makers must have been playing a bizarre joke.  The 3 losses during that stretch were all against actual Playoff teams that do not need a Play-In game.  San Antonio has had a pretty good offense all season thanks to PG Dejounte Murray who leads the team in points (21.2), assists (9.3), and steals (2.0) per game.  Dejounte is a first time all-star.  He is better than the team he plays on.  He is sort of everything a winning team would be looking for in a Point Guard.  San Antonio will get a lot of trade offers for him this summer… He is hoping they accept one (He deserves a Milwaukee or Boston). 

The New Orleans Pelicans have won 6 of their last ten games.  They went 6-4 ATS. 9th place is a great finish for a team that has been victim to Anthony Davis’s and Zion Williamson’s injury history.  Hopefully the front office stops the “Best Power Forward Ever” experiment and just builds a team already.  The Pelicans have gotten increased production from the forward spots when they settled on using Jaxson Hayes at Power Forward instead of back-up Center.  CJ McCollum wasn’t thrilled by a trade to New Orleans but he is a total professional and is making the most of it by leading the team in points and assists.

Sean Murphy is on absolute fire on his NBA Totals selections!  He's 8-1 his last 9, and 38-19 his last 57 NBA Totals.  It just doesn't get much better than that.  Now, for Wednesday, Sean's firing on his 10* NBA Play-In Total of the Year!   Don't miss out!  You can discover the best picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

San Antonio is 34-47 on the season, but 43-37-1 ATS.  They have logged 38 Overs, 41 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 18-22 in road games.

The New Orleans Pelicans are 36-45 on the season, but 41-39-1 ATS.  They have notched 31 Overs, 48 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 19-21 in home games.

San Antonio is 8th in scoring with 113.1 ppg, 8th in rebounds with 45.4 per game, and 1st in AST/TO ratio with 2.2.  On defense they are ranked 23rd while allowing 112.8 ppg from opponents.

The Pelicans are 21st in scoring with 109.3 ppg, 10th in rebounds with 45.2 per game, and 16th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 14th while allowing 110.1 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Wednesday, April 13th is…..  Pelicans 118 - Spurs 114

The Pelicans will get a close win.  The Spurs are particularly vulnerable at the Center position… where the Pelicans have 7’0 Center Jonas Valanciunas who is playing well this season and has improved every season of his decade-long career… except for the 1 down season in Memphis just before Memphis traded him.  THE BET however is on the Spurs.  The 5 point and 5.5 point spreads in favor of New Orleans fly in the face of the Betting Trends that show San Antonio 5-0 ATS in New Orleans the last 3 seasons.  Take the points.

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San Antonio is 8-1 ATS versus New Orleans over the last 3 seasons.
San Antonio is 5-0 ATS versus at New Orleans the last 3 seasons.
7 of 9 games between these teams have gone UNDER the last 3 seasons.

Spurs: SF Dylan McDermott (nose) Out 

Pelicans: PF Zion Williamson (knee) Out ** PG Kira Lewis Jr (knee) Out 

Spurs: SF Lonnie Walker Jr, C Jacob Poeltl, PF Keldon Johnson, PG Dejounte Murray, SG Devin Vassell

Pelicans: SF Herbert Jones, PF Jaxson Hayes, C Jonas Valanciunas, SG CJ McCollum, PG De’Vonte Graham

Spurs: Gregg Popovich

Pelicans: Willie Green