The New Orleans Pelicans will be looking for their sixth win of the season tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Staples Center.
The Pels are coming off a split of their annual back-to-back with the Jazz, which is usually a good time to evaluate where the team is.
Well, we know where they are, sitting at 5-17, without Zion Williamson and until he returns we still don’t know what this team can be.
The Clippers have been doing well considering they’re without Kawhi Leonard, and at 11-9 are still in good shape to make a title run when he returns.
The Pels beat the Clippers in their last matchup and there are some trends emerging that should help guide bettors looking to cash in on this one.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Odds, spread, over/under
According to WynnBET, the New Orleans Pelicans are 8 point underdogs to the Clippers on the road.
One trend to watch is the Pelicans against the spread. They are only 9-13 against the spread this season and just 3-9 ATS on the road. However, the Clippers are just 6-8 against the spread at home, so it’s one trend vs. another. I’d say that if you think the Pelicans can win, just bet the money line, as they are not likely to cover if they don’t win outright.
The money lines are set at +280 for the Pelicans and -340 for the Clippers.
The over/under is 209.5 and another trend should guide the betting. The Pelicans are just 6-15-1 against the over/under and the Clippers are just 8-12, so these teams are not scoring a ton of points.
Neither of them cracked 100 in their last meeting (the Clippers finished with just 81 points) so I would keep betting the under until this trend changes. Going under in 15-of-22 games is a pretty good sample size.
Best daily fantasy bets for Pelicans vs. Clippers
I like to follow the trends for daily fantasy as well. Jonas Valanciunas has put three big games in a row on the Clippers and has logged some of the biggest games of his career vs. LA going back to his days in Memphis. I like this to continue, as LA has no one who can really guard him and JV put up 26 points and 13 rebounds in the last one.
Josh Hart has also had three good games in a row vs. the Clippers, including a 19 point, 10 rebound, four assist stat line in the last one. I like him again tonight.
Brandon Ingram has played the Clippers 16 times in his career and has scored in double digits in all of them. However, he has only scored at least 20 points five times in 16 games vs. the Clippers, so he’s not had a ton of a success.
The Clippers have had their troubles defending quick point guards, so Kira Lewis Jr. or Devonte’ Graham could be good low-cost plays. Graham didn’t play in the last meeting and Kira had his best game of the season, scoring 16 points and adding four rebounds and four assists.
How to watch
You can catch the game on Bally Sports New Orleans, but it doesn’t start until 9:30 PM CT, so you’ll have to stay up late to see the end of this one. You can listen on the radio at ESPN 100.3 FM.