New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers betting tips and predictions for Friday’s NBA game on ESPN. Two teams on winning streaks meet up at Smoothie King Center tonight as the Pelicans host the Cavaliers in the 2nd and final meeting of the season between the teams. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
New Orleans Pelicans
Things have slowly returned to normal for the Pelicans who have won their last 3 games. The return to form of Brandon Ingram has played a huge part in that, he just had 30 points in the 116-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Winning the last 3 games was much needed for the Pelicans who have risen to 7th in the standings and moving forward once Zion Williamson returns this team can only get better. Revenge will be on their mind tonight as they take on the Cavaliers who have beaten them 113-103 earlier this season. Ingram missed that game due to injury, so the Pelicans are in much better shape for tonight’s game. They’ve owned the head-to-head match-up winning 7 of the last 10 games.
Cleveland Cavaliers
At 35-22 SU the Cavaliers have to be taken seriously this season, but the biggest flaw of this team has been their play on the road where they’ve won just 12 of 28 games so far this season. They come into tonight’s game with a 5-1 SU/ATS record over their last 6 games overall, however with 11 losses on the bounce in this building they have history working against them here.
A lot will depend on the play of Donovan Mitchell here, he hasn’t been playing up to his standards lately averaging just 16.2 points over his last 6 outings while shooting just 38% from the field. He had only 11 points vs New Orleans in the first meeting this season, if he doesn’t triple that tonight the Cavs could be in trouble here.
Although the Cavs are on a 4-game win streak, I really like the Pelicans in this spot. They are a much better team at home than on the road, at 20-9 SU they’ve been hard to beat. A healthy Ingram gives them the edge here, back New Orleans to cover.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Predictions & Odds
The slow pace of the Cavaliers has resulted in a few really solid defensive games for them lately, they’ve held their last 3 opponents to just 85, 91 and 103 points which is no small feat in today’s NBA. Even the Pelicans struggled to score against hem back in mid-January when they played each other, finishing with just 103 points.
Tonight’s game will be different though, as Ingram is playing and the Pelicans have been on fire scoring wise lately dropping 130+ points in 2 of their last 3 games. The over has cashed in 4 of the last 6 Pelicans games, they rank 12th in pace of play this season and normally when you play at home you’re the one dictating the tempo. With both teams ranking in the top 15 in offensive efficiency, I think backing the over is the best way to bet on tonight’s game.
