The New Orleans Pelicans and the LA Clippers will break a tie in their regular-season series, as they meet for the third and last time this Tuesday.
Catch this game live on Tuesday, April 27, at 8 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: New Orleans Pelicans (26-34, 16-16 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Lonzo Ball
- SG: Eric Bledsoe
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Steven Adams
Just when it looked like the Pelicans have righted the ship after they ended a four-game skid in a 135-100 road win over the Orlando Magic last Friday, New Orleans got back to its losing ways when it got victimized by the San Antonio Spurs at home last Sunday, 110-98.
The Pelicans’ inconsistency is trumping the consistency of Zion Williamson, who’s been smashing defenders all season long. Williamson has averaged 28.8 points on 61.1 FG% over the last five Pelicans games. As good as the Clippers’ defense is this season, they haven’t really solved Williamson.
The former Duke Blue Devils star was not around when the Clippers defeated them in LA in January (111-106), but he made them suffer from his 27-point explosion on 13-of-16 shooting from the field in the Pelicans, 135-115 home win last March.
Expect Williamson to be just as efficient, especially when attacking the rim, while guys like Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball pick their spots on offense. The Pelicans, who are averaging 115.0 points per game, have seen the total hit the Over in 23 of their past 31 contests at home.
ROAD TEAM: LA Clippers (43-19, 19-11 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Reggie Jackson
- SG: Paul George
- SF: Nicolas Batum
- PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
- C: Ivica Zubac
The Clippers avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets, as they earned a 109-104 win over John Wall and company last Saturday on the road, 109-104. The Clippers rolls into New Orleans riding a four-game win streak and a 3-2 record against the spread during that stretch.
Los Angeles will not have the services of Kawhi Leonard in this game against the Pelicans due to a foot ailment, though the Clippers managed to win all their last three games without The Klaw. Plus, it doesn’t really take much to abuse the leaky defense of New Orleans, which is just 27th in the league with 115.1 points allowed per game.
The Pelicans have gotten even worse of late defensively, as they have surrendered 116.6 points in their last five games –fifth-worst in the NBA in that span. The Clippers have covered the spread in all of their last four games on a Tuesday (Manila).
PREDICTIONS:
Spread:
Zion Williamson will be near-unstoppable again, especially with the Clippers missing a tough rim protector in Serge Ibaka. The Clippers will still execute better in the clutch, as they get a close win over New Orleans, which covers the +3.5 spread.
Over/Under:
Both teams are well-rested and even without Leonard, the Clippers will find ways to score against the aforementioned poor New Orleans defense. Take the Over (228.5)
