LA Clippers vs New Orleans Pelicans betting tips and predictions for Friday’s NBA game. With just 1 win at home all season, the New Orleans Pelicans will try to improve on that record as they host the 9-6 LA Clippers. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
LA Clippers
The number of injuries is pilling up for the Clippers and it’s showing on their results. They’ve dropped 2 of their last 3 games and are only 6th in the Western Conference right now. Marcus Morris Sr., Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow and Nicolas Batum are all out as head-coach Ty Lue struggles with his rotation. An otherwise solid team, they allowed the Memphis Grizzlies to score 120 points on them on Thursday. The effort on that end of the floor in tonight’s game will have to be a lot better if they want to get one over the struggling Pelicans. Although they’ve beaten them in 4 of the last 6 meetings, the Clippers have covered the spread just once in their last 5 vs New Orleans.
New Orleans Pelicans
Losing players to injuries is something the Pelicans know a thing or two about. They started off the season without Zion Williamson, who is still out with a foot problem. After that Brandon Ingram went down for 7 games and they lost all 7 of them. Now that he is back they were able to win one game against Memphis, but followed it up with two losses against Washington and Miami. As time goes on Ingram will only get better, so it’s only a matter of time this team starts winning again. However, with a 2-14 record after just 16 games played, it’s going to be a struggle for them to even get into the play-in tournament even if their young star returns and is fully healthy.
The Pelicans have dug themselves in a big hole and things are looking ugly at the moment. Against teams from the Western conference they’ve covered the spread just 3 times in 9 games. Despite the long list of injuries I fancy the Clippers in this one, they need to continue winning on a consistent basis if they want to finish among the Top 4 teams in the West come playoff time. Give me LA to cover.
New Orleans Pelicans – LA Clippers Odds
New Orleans Pelicans – LA Clippers Predictions
Clippers -3.5 Point Spread is available on bet365 at -110 odds
With their two main scoring options being out for most of the season, the Pelicans offensive numbers have looked terrible so far. They are only 25th in offensive efficiency and are in the bottom 15 in pace of play. As far as effective field goal percentage goes, only two teams in the NBA are worse than New Orleans is, the Clippers rank 10th in that category. Pelicans are also bad defensively, they allow the 5th highest amount of points per game this season. At home that number is 112 per game, LA has a ton of scoring power so it shouldn’t be a problem for them to reach their average of 108 points per game on the road. The over has landed in 6 of the last 10 meetings, including 2 of 3 games played last season between them. They are averaging 240.4 points in those 10 games, although I don’t think we’ll see a 240 point game tonight, the two teams should have enough to push the total over.
Over 215.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
