The New Orleans Pelicans will travel to take on the Detroit Pistons in a Friday night NBA matchup at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes a Pelicans-Pistons prediction and pick, laid out below.

New Orleans has surged to a 25-17 record, third place in the Western Conference. The Pelicans surprised and made the playoffs last season, losing in six games to the Phoenix Suns. New Orleans has struggled a bit of late, losing five of their last seven after a five-game winning streak.

Detroit has struggled mightily, going 11-33 this season, dead last in the Eastern Conference. Detroit’s rebuild hit a bit of a speed bump when guard Cade Cunningham was ruled out for the season in December.

Here are the Pelicans-Pistons NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NBA Odds: Pelicans-Pistons Odds

New Orleans Pelicans: -5 (-114)

Detroit Pistons: +5 (-106)

Over: 234 (-110)

Under: 234 (-110)

How To Watch Pelicans vs. Pistons

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports Detroit

Stream: NBA, NBA League Pass

Time: 7:10 PM ET/ 4:10 PM PT

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Pelicans Could Cover The Spread

Zion Williamson was showing out and leads the team with 26.0 points on 60.8 percent shooting. Williamson has also grabbed 7.0 rebounds per game, which is second on the team. Here's the bad news, Williamson is out until around the end of the month. CJ McCollum leads the team with 5.8 assists and ranks second with 21.3 points per game. McCollum is shooting 40.6 percent from behind the three-point line. Brandon Ingram is the perfect second option, ranking third with 20.8 points per game, dishing out 4.7 assists per game, which ranks second on the team. Jonas Valanciunas leads the team with 9.5 rebounds and ranks fourth with 14.1 points per game.

Trey Murphy III’s production has increased along with his usage, averaging 12.4 points per game. Jose Alvarado is second on the team with 1.2 steals per game. New Orleans has registered an impressive 8.6 steals per game, which is second in the league, while Detroit turns the ball over 14.8 times per game.

New Orleans ranks 11th with 36.5 percent shooting from behind the three-point line, and has put up a ton of points. The Pelicans rank fourth in the league with 117.4 points averaged per game. New Orleans’ defense has been solid, ranking 16th with 113.3 points allowed per game.

Why The Pistons Could Cover The Spread

Cade Cunningham, the first overall pick in the 2021 draft, is out for the season with a shin injury. Cunningham had been the team’s second-leading scorer. Bojan Bogdanovic leads the team with 21.2 points per game, shooting 42.2 percent from behind the arc. Last year’s fifth overall pick Jaden Ivey has averaged 15.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game. Alec Burks, who plays exclusively off the bench, has averaged 14.0 points per game on 45.0 percent shooting from three-point land. Big man Isaiah Stewart is second on the team with 7.9 rebounds, also averaging 11.8 points per game. Jalen Duren leads the team with 8.5 rebounds per game. Adding to the injury bug, Duren is out for this one and Stewart is questionable.

Saddiq Bey has averaged 14.0 points per game. More noteworthy is his ability to protect the basketball, averaging just 1.1 turnovers per game. New Orleans has forced 15.8 turnovers per game, so protecting the basketball will be key. Killian Hayes has taken over point guard duties with Cunningham out and has averaged 5.6 assists per game, which would be a career-high.

Detroit has averaged just 112.4 points per game, which is 19th in the league. Adding to the team’s struggles, Detroit’s defense has allowed the second most points per game at 119.6.

Final Pelicans-Pistons Prediction & Pick

Even without Zion, New Orleans should be able to handle Detroit.

Final Pelicans-Pistons Prediction & Pick: New Orleans -5 (-114), over 234 (-110)