The New Orleans Pelicans and the Philadelphia 76ers will battle it out in an exciting inter-conference affair on Friday night. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Pelicans-76ers prediction and pick.
New Orleans and Philadelphia battle it out for the second and final time this season. The first head-to-head matchup between these teams in 2021 resulted in a seven-point Pelicans victory. Will they pull off the sweep and continue to live on against the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers?
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Pelicans-76ers NBA odds.
NBA Odds: Pelicans-76ers Odds
New Orleans Pelicans +9.5 (-110)
Philadelphia 76ers -9.5 (-110)
Over 227 Points (-110)
Under 227 Points (-110)
Why The Pelicans Could Cover The Spread
The New Orleans Pelicans playoff hopes are on life support as the season comes to a close. The Pelicans come into this game with the 76ers just 1.5 games back of the Spurs for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. New Orleans won't have it easy as all of their remaining six games will be against current playoff teams.
The two biggest games on the schedule after this one will be against the ninth-place Grizzlies and the eighth-place Warriors. New Orleans split a two-game series with the Warriors last week, which will make that next matchup much more important with the head-to-head tiebreaker on the line as well. Needless to say, the Pelicans have to take care of business on the road against the best team in the east first.
It seems that New Orleans has a new big-two as Lonzo Ball has emerged as a lethal scorer for New Orleans. Lonzo led the way in the recent win against Golden State with 33 points, six boards, four assists, and seven made three's. Zion joined in on the fun with 23 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. With Brandon Ingram still out with a left ankle sprain, these two will have to be especially good in this matchup. Ingram's absence is certainly reflected in the NBA odds for this one.
Why The 76ers Could Cover The Spread
The Philadelphia 76ers seem to be finally running away with the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Brooklyn's loss on Thursday against Dallas dropped them to 2.5 games back of the 76ers with six to play. The Nets recent struggles along with the 76ers current six-game winning streak should be enough to earn Philadelphia home court throughout the postseason.
Philadelphia has a rather friendly remaining schedule with just one playoff seeded opponent in the Miami Heat. Regardless of who they play, the 76ers have been one of the best teams at defending their home court in the league this season. Philly is 25-7 at the Wells Fargo Center in 2021. The NBA odds have them as a comfortable favorite in this one as a result of those past successes.
Philadelphia kept the train rolling with a 20-point victory against the Houston Rockets their last time out. MVP-candidate Joel Embiid continued his dominance with another double-double, registering 34 points and 12 rebounds in the resounding win. Six others delivered double-figure performances as well, which has become a common theme for this 76ers group down the stretch.
Final Pelicans-76ers Prediction & Pick
We have seen a higher level of play from this Pelicans group over the past few weeks. New Orleans seems to be clicking on the defensive end, which was their worst enemy earlier in the season. Not many teams are able to go into the Wells Fargo Center and leave victorious, but I'm confident that the desperation and increased efficiency on the offensive end will keep NOLA within 10 points. They are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Philadelphia 76ers.
FINAL PICK: New Orleans Pelicans +9.5 (-110)
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