New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs 12/22/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans meet Thursday in NBA action at the Smoothie King Center. The San Antonio Spurs have split their last 8 games. The New Orleans Pelicans have lost 4 straight games.

The San Antonio Spurs are averaging 110.3 points on 46.5 percent shooting and allowing 119.5 points on 50.5 percent shooting. Keldon Johnson is averaging 21.1 points and 5.2 rebounds, while Devin Vassell is averaging 20 points and 3.5 assists. Tre Jones is the third double-digit scorer and Jakob Poeltl is grabbing 9.5 rebounds. The San Antonio Spurs are shooting 34.6 percent from beyond the arc and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. The San Antonio Spurs are allowing 38.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.5 rebounds per game.

The New Orleans Pelicans are averaging 117.3 points on 48.5 percent shooting and allowing 112.5 points on 46.4 percent shooting. Zion Williamson is averaging 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, while Brandon Ingram is averaging 20.8 points and 5.1 rebounds. CJ McCollum is the third double-digit scorer and Jonas Valanciunas is grabbing 9.3 rebounds. The New Orleans Pelicans are shooting 36.7 percent from beyond the arc and 78.4 percent from the free throw line. The New Orleans Pelicans are allowing 33.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44.9 rebounds per game.

The Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games and 4-11 ATS in their last 15 games overall. The Pelicans are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games playing on 2 days rest and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall. The over is 4-1 in Spurs last 5 overall. The over is 5-1 in Pelicans last 6 overall. The Spurs are 7-0 ATS in the last 7 meetings in New Orleans and 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings.

I don’t want to back the San Antonio Spurs as much as the next guy, but the Pelicans have cooled off this week, and that includes losing their last 5 games by an average of 6.4 points. The Pels are also going to be without Zion as he’s battling an illness. The Spurs have also won a few games these last couple of weeks, and are losing their last 5 games by an average of just 0.4 points. Give me the road dog.