The Portland Trail Blazers invade the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. Here’s a New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction. This article will include a New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Trail Blazers Pick.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have been doing it tough as they’ve lost five of their first seven games and they will be eager to avoid a third straight defeat after falling just short to the Suns in a 103-97 road defeat on Saturday. Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant led the team with 20 points each, Deni Avdija added 13 points while Deandre Ayton chipped in with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot just 33 percent from the field and 14 of 43 from the 3-point line as they got off to a solid start to take the lead into halftime, only to let their hard work go to waste in the third quarter where they got outscored by an incredible 44-18 to fall behind by 26 points. To their credit, the Trail Blazers showed plenty of fight to cut the deficit to just two points with 1:04 remaining, but just couldn’t get over the line.
New Orleans Pelicans
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in a rut of their own as they’ve lost four of their last five games overall and they will be hoping for a better performance after getting smashed by the Hawks in a 126-111 loss last night. Brandon Ingram led the team with 32 points on 12 of 19 shooting, Jordan Hawkins added 19 points while Jamal Cain and Brandon Boston Jr each scored 14 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 43 percent from the field and 16 of 38 from the 3-point line as they got off to a decent start to take the lead into halftime, only to allow the Hawks to explode for 68 points in the second half as they had no answer for the Hawks’ duo of Jalen Johnson and Trae Young.
Why the Portland Trail Blazers will win
- The Pelicans have lost seven of their last eight games against Western Conference opponents.
- The Trail Blazers have won three of their last four road games against Southwest Division opponents that held a losing record.
- The Pelicans have failed to cover the spread in each of their last seven games against Western Conference opponents.
- The Trail Blazers have covered the spread in each of their last four games following a loss.
Total Points Facts
- Seven of the Trail Blazers’ last eight road games have gone UNDER the total points line.
- Each of the Pelicans’ last four home games against Western Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Pelicans rank 29th in the league for opponent assists per game this season (29.6).
- The Pelicans rank 2nd in the league for opponent free throws made per game this season (14.1).
- The Trail Blazers rank 30th in the league for Q1 points per game this season (22.9).
- The Trail Blazers rank 30th in the league for Q3 opponent points per game this season (37.3).
New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction
The Trail Blazers are still missing Matisse Thybulle and Robert Williams, while the Pelicans are still without Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Dejounte Murray, and Trey Murphy. The Trail Blazers have struggled to win games this season, but they were competitive in their narrow loss to the Suns on Saturday and I like their chances against this severely depleted Pelicans squad. You couldn’t back either side with any confidence these days, but the Trail Blazers represent decent value as the underdogs in this spot, so I’m going with the upset.