Free NBA Pick: Pelicans vs. Thunder NBA Odds
Looking for New Orleans Pelicans vs. OKC Thunder free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Pelicans taking on the Thunder on Friday, December 23rd, 2021 at the Paycom Center. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Pelicans-Thunder matchup.
2022 NBA Handicapping
(19-12) New Orleans Pelicans vs. OKC Thunder (14-18)
Date: Friday, December 23rd
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
NBA Moneyline Odds: Pelicans +100 | Thunder -125 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Thunder -2
NBA Betting Total: 232
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Friday, December 23rd, finds the New Orleans Pelicans facing the OKC Thunder for the second of four scheduled matches. OKC will host again on February 13th while New Orleans will host the final meeting on March 11th. The Pelicans won the initial meeting 105-101on November 28th.
The Pelicans are completing a back-to-back set having beat the Spurs 126-117 on Thursday while the Thunder swept the Blazers in their baseball set winning 123-121 on Monday and 101-98 on Wednesday.
Last season, the squads played three times with the Thunder winning two of the three contests. The Thunder hold the all-time record having bested the Pelicans in 39 of their 67 matches.
*Editor’s Note: Statistics and rankings are current as of this writing, Thursday evening, December 22nd. Numbers may vary slightly entering games on Friday, December 23rd.
New Orleans Pelicans
Although Zion Williamson is out of quarantine the thinking is the team will ramp him up slowly which means he’s likely to miss this match in OKC.
Williamson is averaging 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds (2.1 offensive boards), 4.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
He’s shooting 61.0 percent from the field on 16.0 attempts, 33.3 percent from the perimeter on 0.8 attempts, and 72.2 percent from the charity stripe on 7.8 attempts per contest.
Offensively, the Pelicans rank third for scoring averaging 117.6 points per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.8% from the perimeter ranking fifth and 10th respectively.
Defensively, the Pelicans allow opponents to score 112.6 points per game, ranking 14th. New Orleans holds their opponents to 46.5% from the field ranking ninth and boasts the third-best perimeter ranking of 33.7%.
Larry Nance (Achilles soreness) is questionable and while Zion Williamson is out of quarantine he’s likely not to play until Monday. Brandon Ingram (toe) and E.J. Liddell (knee) are out. Dereon Seabron is on G League assignment.
OKC Thunder
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to impress with his smooth game and has ascended into a clutch time game winner who his young teammates are clearly happy to follow.
The Canadian is averaging 31.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and a block per game. His shooting splits are 50.1% from the field, 34.5% from deep, and 93.3% from the stripe taking 20.8, 3.0, and 10.2 shots respectively.
The Thunder score 115.1 points per game ranking 10th shooting 46.0% from the field (22nd) and 34.3% from deep (21st).
Defensively, the Thunder rank 25th for opponent points allowing 116.5 per game while opponents shoot 46.56% from the field (12th) and 36.6% from the perimeter (23rd).
Ousmane Dieng (wrist), and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (ankle) are out. Chet Holmgren (foot) is out for the season. Tre Mann and Jaylin Williams are on G League assignment
NBA Betting Trends:
- The Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games.
- The Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games.
- The Pelicans are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games.
- The Thunder are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games at home.
- The Pelicans are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against Oklahoma City.
- The Thunder are 14-6 SU in their last 20 games when playing at home against New Orleans.
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of New Orleans’ last 14 games on the road.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City’s last 5 games.
Free New Orleans Pelicans vs. OKC Thunder NBA Prediction:
The fact the Pelicans aren’t favored speaks to their injuries but also to the respect SGA and his Thunder are gaining. They’ve swept both the Clippers and Blazers in baseball sets this season and while their record is below .500 they bring a competitive effort nightly.
The last game before Christmas is a tough one for teams to maintain focus, particularly young teams but Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t get phased and his young group follows his lead so I think they can get this match and cover.
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