Phoenix Suns vs New Orleans Pelicans 10/28/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The New Orleans Pelicans travel to the Footprint Center to take on the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been in decent shape as they’ve won three of their first four games and they will be looking for another good performance after sneaking past the Mavericks in a 113-111 win on Tuesday. Trey Murphy led the team with 22 points on eight of eight shooting, Naji Marshall added 15 points on six of nine shooting while CJ McCollum tallied 14 points with 11 assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot a healthy 57 percent from the field and 12 of 27 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates with 40 points in the first quarter, before rallying behind their defense in the fourth quarter where they survived a potential game-winning shot from the Mavericks’ Luka Doncic at the buzzer.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Suns are coming in hot with three wins in their first four games and they will be gunning for a third straight victory after blowing past the Warriors in a 134-105 home win on Tuesday. Devin Booker led the team with 34 points and seven assists, Mikal Bridges and Jock Landale each scored 17 points while Chris Paul tallied 16 points with seven rebounds and nine assists. As a team, the Suns shot 51 percent from the field and 12 of 29 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 72 points in the first half to take the early lead, before they held the Warriors to just 39 points in the second half to make it a massive win in the end.

Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 16-7 ATS in their last 23 road games, 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against a team above .600. The Suns are 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team above .600.

Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall and the Pelicans are 3-8 ATS in the last 11 meetings overall.

The Pelicans have started the season well, they just took down the Mavericks in a thriller and they would love to take down the Suns to keep the good times going but they could be shorthanded as McCollum and Zion Williamson are both questionable while Brandon Ingram has been ruled out. The Suns look like the more settled unit and they would’ve taken so much confidence and satisfaction from their blowout win over the defending champs on Tuesday. The Pelicans would be tempting if they weren’t dealing with so many injuries, but as it stands, I’ll lean towards the Suns to get the job done in this spot.