Henry Roldán
NBA action continues this Thursday with a Western Conference showdown when the Spurs vs Pelicans meet for the third time this campaign.
San Antonio is coming off a 124-105 win over the Rockets in its last game on Monday, while New Orleans has four straight losses after being beaten 128-119 by the Bucks on Monday.
Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview of the San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans.
Predictions, Odds, and Betting Preview for the San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans NBA Regular Season Game on December 22, 2022
- Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.
- When: Thursday, December 22, 2022, 8:00 PM E.T.
Odds provided by BetMGM.
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Betting on the San Antonio Spurs
- Regular Season Record: 10-20
- Spread: +8.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: (+280)
- Over/Under: 226.5
Little by little, the Spurs are trying to climb out of the bottom of the Western Conference, so four wins in the last six games is definitely a good start.
In their last win against the Rockets, beyond facing the worst team in the conference, Gregg Popovich’s team scored more than 120 points for the first time in their last eight games, something that speaks of the serious offensive problem they are going through.
In fact, San Antonio is the fifth team averaging the fewest points per game this year at just 110.3 and much of that is because they are among the 12 worst teams in field goal and long-range shooting percentage. They also have the second-worst free throw percentage at 72.7%.
However, the main problem comes from the defensive side, as no one concedes more points to their opponents than they do, averaging 119.5 per game. San Antonio also allows the highest field goal percentage in the league at 50.5% and its 38.9% shooting from long distance also represents the highest figure in the NBA.
Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans
- Regular Season Record: 18-12
- Spread: -8.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: (-350)
- Over/Under: 226.5
After tasting the sweetness of the first place in the Western Conference for several days, the Pelicans have fallen down in the last few games and have already dropped to 4th place in the group.
Three of the four losses in a row came on the road, two of them to the Jazz, and in three of them they also conceded more than 120 points to their opponents. And that is something that surely worries coach Willie Green as his guys were among the best defenses in the league during the first weeks.
The New Orleans team also has the third-lowest percentage of three-point shots allowed and only allows an average of 42.3 rebounds per game to its opponents, the seventh-best figure in the circuit.
When considering their offense, the numbers are better, so if the Pelicans can get back to their defensive performance of a couple of weeks ago, they will be a very feared team in the far west.
With two players averaging more than 20 points per game (Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram), the New Orleans offense is the third-highest scorer in the league with 117.3,while they are fifth in field goal percentage with 49% shooting and 27 assists per game also rank them as the fifth best.
JefeBet Prediction
One of the best offenses in the league hosts one of the worst defenses in the league. There is not much to look into or analyze, especially when we are talking about teams from the West, who are accustomed to scoring all the time.
And while New Orleans has defended well in the campaign, they have not been very efficient in recent games either, so we are surely to get a few points from San Antonio.
Prediction: Over (SA 112 – NO 120).
