Cleveland Cavaliers (35-22) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (29-27)
February 10, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: New Orleans Pelicans +2.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Smoothie King Center on Friday night.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in great form as they’ve won seven of their last 10 games overall and they will be aiming for a fifth straight victory after making light work of the Pistons in a 113-85 win on Wednesday. Jarrett Allen led the team with 20 points and 16 rebounds, Evan Mobley added 19 points while Raul Neto tallied 14 points with eight assists and four steals. As a team, the Cavaliers shot 49 percent from the field and just six of 26 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates and took control with a 32-14 first quarter, before they finished with a flurry of 37 points in the fourth quarter to pull away and make it a blowout in the end.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans look to have completely moved on from their 10-game skid as they are now aiming for a fourth straight victory after taking down the Hawks in a 116-107 win on Tuesday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 30 points and eight assists, CJ McCollum added 21 points with seven assists while Jonas Valanciunas and Trey Murphy each scored 16 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 49 percent from the field and 12 of 32 from the 3-point line as they rode the hot hand of Ingram and Valanciunas early on, before they held the Hawks to just 22 points in the third quarter to pull away and keep their win streak alive.
Looking at the betting trends, the Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall. The Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 1-5 ATS in their last six games against a team above .600.
Head to head, the over is 9-2 in the last 11 meetings in New Orleans, the Cavaliers are 1-7 ATS in the last eight meetings in New Orleans and the Cavaliers are 4-9 ATS in the last 13 meetings overall.
The Cavaliers are coming into this meeting pretty much at full health as a team, while the Pelicans are still missing Zion Williamson and Dyson Daniels. The Cavaliers have been building nicely with seven wins in their last 10 outings and they made it look easy in their big win over the Pistons on Wednesday, but the Pelicans are a team on the rise with three wins in a row and they are capable of taking down the Cavaliers if Ingram can get hot again. The Cavaliers are only 1-7 ATS in the last eight meetings in New Orleans, but I think they break the trend in this one with a hard-fought victory on the road.
