Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans 12/15/21 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the New Orleans Pelicans at the Paycom Center on Wednesday night.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been in a rut as they’ve lost four of their past six games and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting thrashed by the Spurs in a 112-97 road loss on Sunday. Brandon Ingram led the team with 27 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points with 12 rebounds and four assists while Josh Hart tallied 13 points with 10 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 42 percent from the field and eight of 29 from the 3-point line as they kept pace with the Spurs in a tight contest, before going ice-cold in the fourth quarter where they managed just 15 points to allow the Spurs to run away with it. Devonte’ Graham has been inconsistent all season and he had another rough night as he finished with just eight points on three of 11 shooting.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been in a real slump as they’ve lost 10 of their past 12 games overall and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting blown out by the Mavericks in a 103-84 home loss on Sunday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 18 points and five assists, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 11 points while Darius Bazley and Luguentz Dort each scored 10 points. As a team, the Thunder shot 37 percent from the field and 13 of 37 from the 3-point line as they struggled early and scored just 19 points in the second quarter to fall behind by 10 points at halftime, before getting blown out in the fourth quarter where they scored a measly 13 points. Josh Giddey had a night to forget as he scored just six points on three of 14 shooting while no bench player scored more than eight points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 3-10 ATS in their last 13 road games, 1-5 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record and 1-5 ATS in their last six games playing on two days’ rest. The Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last five games following a loss and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.

Head to head, the under is 6-2 in the last eight meetings overall and the Pelicans are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.

You really couldn’t bet your hard-earned money on either team with much confidence these days, but I do have to give the edge to the Pelicans with players like Ingram and Hart playing well lately. The Thunder are a young team who can surprise any team, but they haven’t shown much of that lately, so with the line so short, I’m going with the Pelicans to get the job done in this spot.