The New Orleans Pelicans (25-16) visiting the Boston Celtics (29-12) may have been a bit more interesting if Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram were in the lineup for the visitors.
Without those two stars, the C’s are whopping -10 point favorites for this meeting. Boston has won five straight at home, but New Orleans is also coming off their highest-scoring game of the season heading into the Pelicans vs Celtics odds matchup for Wednesday.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics Odds
The -10 points Boston is giving on the Pelicans vs Celtics odds do seem on the high side here. The New Orleans Pelicans’ stats were just fine on Monday, even without Ingram and Williamson, as McCollum has 26+ points in four straight while Valanciunas has a double-double in his last five.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics Matchup Information
New Orleans Pelicans (25-16) vs. Boston Celtics (29-12)
Location of the Game: TD Garden. Boston, MA.
Date: Wednesday, 11th January. 7:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: Bally Sports NO, NBC Sports Boston, NBA League Pass, fuboTV.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics Game Info and Analysis
New Orleans Pelicans Performance Recap and Analysis
The New Orleans Pelicans are missing 26.0 points per game from Williamson and 20.8 from Ingram heading into the NBA picks today, but they are still a dangerous team. This team just hung a season-high 132 points on the Washington Wizards Monday night, so the New Orleans Pelicans stats of 117.4 ppg (4th in the NBA) hold true even with some injuries.
You’re losing close to 50 points per game with Williamson and Ingram out, but the Pelicans still came out and scored 132 points on Monday. That most recent win against Washington was fueled by 34 points from CJ McCollum and a 27/12 night from Jonas Valanciunas.
New Orleans is seeing +10 points in the NBA odds today, possibly because they are just 8-11 on the road this season and missing two key players. The Pelicans are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight away tilts, which includes a 15-point loss with Memphis Grizzlies, falling by 9 against Philadelphia 76ers, and dropping a 127-117 decision against Dallas Mavericks this past weekend.
Key Injuries
Williamson has been out since January 2nd with a hamstring injury, and the Pelicans are 2-2 in his absence. The Ingram loss isn’t as consequential, considering he’s been on the mend since November 25th with a troublesome toe, but not having him compounded with Williamson being out really puts a strain on the rest of the New Orleans roster.
Betting Trends to Know
The Pelicans aren’t playing well away from the Big Easy, with a 2-6 ATS mark in their last eight road games. That could be due to poor defense, as the betting total has gone ‘over’ in six of their last seven away NBA matchups.
Boston Celtics Performance Recap and Analysis
Boston is a very good home team (16-5) and has beaten the Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Minnesota Timberwolves on their current five-game win streak at TD Garden. The Celtics continue to be the second-highest-scoring team in the NBA (118.5) and are also in the top 10 in defensive efficiency.
Boston just wrapped up a 2-2 trip out West to start the New Year, including an astonishing 150-117 loss to Oklahoma City Thunder as -11.5 favorites. That blowout followed a 123-111 loss against Denver Nuggets, but the Celtics were able to regroup to end the trip with wins over the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs.
The Celtics laid a colossal egg in their 150-117 loss to the Thunder on January 3rd, but there’s not a ton you can do when an opponent hits 59% of their shots from the field, including a 20-40 night from beyond the arc.
What Boston did do on their road swing as part of their recent NBA schedule is bounce back nicely, giving up 150 to OKC one game but then holding Dallas to 95 two nights later.
After the road trip, the Celtics returned home to beat the Bulls 107-99 on Monday, and Chicago had been playing well as winners of eight of their previous 11. The C’s still failed to cover the -9.5 number in that game, and the Boston Celtics odds have now gone 1-5 ATS in the last six games.
Key Injuries
Boston held the Mavericks to 95 points and Chicago under 100 on Monday despite missing their top defender Marcus Smart, who remains questionable in the Pelicans vs Celtics odds because of a knee injury.
Betting Trends to Know
Boston has won five straight home games straight-up, but they haven’t been a great team to bet on overall lately, with a 1-5 ATS mark over their last six. They have also gone 0-4 ATS following their last four SU victories, which is something to consider coming off the 107-99 win over the Bulls.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics Betting Picks
Moneyline: Boston -450
That’s a huge price to pay on a Moneyline bet, but the Celtics are the likely winners of this game. They are solid at home, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to average over 26 points per game – which is huge, with the Pelicans missing close to 50 ppg in the Ingram and Williamson injuries. That’s a 100-point swing.
Over/Under: Over 229
Total betting based on Wednesday’s NBA team stats or NBA player stats is a crapshoot because Boston just had the 150 points allowed to OKC but then followed that up by holding Dallas and Chicago to under 100. New Orleans just gave up 127 points to that same Mavericks club, so their poor road defense is what pushes this one ‘over.’
Spread: Pelicans +10
That’s just too many points to be giving New Orleans, who is still a very well-coached team and has ample production from McCollum and Valanciunas – especially if Boston continues to be without Smart.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Boston Celtics Score Prediction
New Orleans Pelicans 115 – Boston Celtics 119
NBA Pick: Pelicans +10
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