Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
This Monday, the (26-17) New Orleans Pelicans will travel to Cleveland, OH to take on the (27-17) Cleveland Cavaliers. Tipoff will be at 3:00 PM EST inside the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. This will be the first time that these two teams have matched up this season, as I am expecting a battle in this one.
The Pelicans are coming into this one after defeating the Detroit Pistons, 116-110. They were efficient on the offensive end of the court, as they will have to consistently attack the basket in this one if they want to challenge the Cavs on the road.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering this game after falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 110-102. They struggled on the offensive end of the court, as they will have to heat up from the field if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The New Orleans Pelicans are currently in third place in the Western Conference standings, as they trail the Nuggets and the Grizzlies by 3.5 games. On offense, they are scoring 117.3 points per game and they have shot 48% from the field. This is the fourth most points scored per contest and the eighth-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Pelicans have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.9, which is the seventh-highest rating in the NBA. With Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson still being banged up, CJ McCollum has continued to carry the team on the offensive end of the floor. He is scoring 21.2 points per game on 43.5% shooting from the field. New Orleans has also shown that they can score in the paint or on the perimeter. They have shot 36.5% from behind the arc, which is the 11th-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. They have also shot 78% at the charity stripe, which is only the 17th-h ighest free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA.
On the defensive end of the court, the Pelicans have been tough to beat. They are surrendering 113.3 points per game and their opponents have only shot 47.1% from the floor. This is the 16th least amount of points surrendered per game and the 15th-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Pelicans have an adjusted defensive rating of 111.1, which is the fourth-lowest rating in the NBA. They have continued to contest shots near the rim and on the outside, as they haven't surrendered many open shots. Their opponents have shit 34.1% from behind the arc, which is the second-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The New Orleans Pelicans have also snatched 45.3 rebounds per game, which is the sixth most.
Injury Report: Herb Jones PF (Back) is questionable. Brandon Ingram SF (Toe), Zion Williamson PF (Hamstring), and E.J. Liddell SF (Kne e) are out.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $50 1st w/ promocode WandW!