New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 11/10/2021

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans duke it out at the Smoothie King Center on Wednesday night.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are starting to build some momentum now as they’ve won three of their past five games and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after taking down the Spurs in a 99-94 home win on Sunday. Mike Muscala led the team with 20 points on five of six shooting off the bench, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 14 points with eight rebounds and nine assists, James Robinson and Luguentz Dort each scored 13 points while Darius Bazley chipped in with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Thunder shot just 37 percent from the field and 12 of 42 from the 3-point line as they exploded for 34 points in the third quarter to turn a 16-point deficit into a 10-point lead, before going on another pivotal 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter to escape with the win.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been ice-cold to start the season as they’ve lost 10 of their first 11 games and they will be hoping to snap a seven-game slide after getting routed by the Mavericks in a 108-92 road loss on Monday. Jonas Valanciunas led the team with 22 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 10 of 16 shooting, Josh Hart added 22 points with five assists while Nickeil Alexander-Walker chipped in with 18 points and four assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 42 percent from the field and just nine of 34 from the 3-point line as they fell behind after scoring just 20 points in the second quarter and hardly threatened as the lead only grow as the game wore on. Bench scoring was the glaring problem in this one as no bench player scored a single point other than Jaxson Hayes who had just 10, compared to the Mavericks whose bench combined for 42 points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Thunder are 2-7 ATS in their last nine road games, 4-0 ATS in their last four games against a team with a losing record and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. The Pelicans are 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a loss, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall.

Head to head, the under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall, the Thunder are 14-6 ATS in the last 20 meetings in New Orleans and the Thunder are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.

The Thunder have been slow starters this season, but they’re starting to heat up now after winning their last two games which makes them red-hot compared to the depleted Pelicans who are still stuck on just one win for the season so far. This is a tough one to pick as you couldn’t back either team with much confidence, but I just don’t see how the Pelicans could be favorites against any team at the moment. Give me the Thunder to escape with the minor upset in this spot.