San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/27/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Sunday, December 27, 2020

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Fox Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: San Antonio (+5.5)

The San Antonio Spurs head to Smoothie King Center on Sunday where they'll meet the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans opens this matchup as 5.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 226.5.

The San Antonio Spurs played the Memphis Grizzlies and went home with a win by a final score of 131-119 in their last game. San Antonio ended with a 50.5% field goal percentage (48 of 95) and knocked down 10 of their 25 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Spurs buried 25 of 29 shots for a rate of 86.2%. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 48 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 28 dimes for this contest as well as earning 8 steals and 8 blocks. Pertaining to defending, San Antonio let their opponent shoot 51.6% from the field on 49 of 95 shooting. Memphis recorded 27 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. In addition, the Grizzlies had 42 boards (5 offensive, 37 defensive) and added 8 blocked shots. Memphis went 61.1% at the charity stripe by burying 11 of their 18 tries. They converted 10 of their 27 attempts from three-point range.

DeMar DeRozan is one player who was a factor for this contest. He accounted for 28 points on 7 of 14 shooting. He played 34:53 minutes and grabbed 9 boards. DeRozan shot 50.0% from the floor and also earned 9 dimes. Another guy that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Spurs was Lonnie Walker. He collected 6 rebounds and also accumulated 2 assists. He ended up going 66.7% from the floor in the matchup by shooting 6-of-9 (16 points). When this game wrapped up, Walker was on the hardwood for 34:23 min.

San Antonio steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a record of 32-39 last year. They lost possession by turning the ball over 12.6 times per game and as a unit committed 19.4 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, San Antonio collected 44.6 boards per game and racked up 1,751 dimes last season, which ranked 14th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Spurs connected on 37.6% on shots from distance (760 of 2,021) and 81.0% from the free throw line. They averaged 114.1 pts per game (8th in the NBA) while shooting 47.2% from the field. On defense, the Spurs were able to force their opponents into 13.2 turnovers per game and they drew 20.1 fouls. The Spurs defensively allowed an opponent shooting percentage of 46.9% (3,004 of 6,402) and they relinquished 45.3 boards per game as a unit. They were ranked 27th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,825 surrendered over the course of last season. They conceded 37.3% on 3-point shots while they were 25th in the NBA in opponents PPG (115.2).

For their last game, the New Orleans Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-98 against the Miami Heat. The Pelicans were able to snag 30 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 41 in this game. They blocked 2 attempts while recording 8 steals in this matchup. The Heat earned 25 personal fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 33 shots. They were able to knock down 26 of the free throws for a clip of 78.8%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, New Orleans knocked down 10 out of their 35 attempts (28.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Pelicans finished shooting 31 for 78 from the field which gave them a percentage of 39.7%. The Pelicans allowed the Heat to convert 38 out of their 75 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.7% in this contest. They wrapped up this game 43.2% from distance via 16 of 37 and finished the game at 19 of 23 from the free throw line (82.6%). When it comes to attacking the glass, New Orleans permitted Miami to pull down 35 in total (4 on the offensive side).

Zion Williamson was important for the Pelicans for the game. He buried 11 of 20 for the contest for a field goal rate of 55.0%, which had him sitting at 32 points. Williamson snagged 14 boards in his 38:18 mins of time on the hardwood and tallied 2 dimes for this game. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for New Orleans was Brandon Ingram. He ended up with 28 points in 37:03 minutes played by way of 7 of 17 shooting in the game. Ingram walked away from this one going 41.2% from the field as well as contributing 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

New Orleans had a win-loss record of 30-42 last season. The Pelicans committed 21.2 fouls every game and they went 72.9% from the free throw line. They dished out assists 26.8 times per contest (3rd in the NBA) and they turned the ball over 16.4 times per game. New Orleans accounted for 8,341 points last season (115.8 per game) and they grabbed 46.5 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans hit 46.5% from the floor, which ranked 13th in the NBA. The Pelicans on defense were ranked 27th in the league in points allowed per contest with 117.1. They forced their opponents into 14.5 TO's per game and let teams shoot 46.5% from the floor (19th in the league). The New Orleans defense allowed 36.1% from downtown (880 of 2,438) and their opponents connected on 78.9% of their free throw shots. They conceded 24.5 dimes and 44.8 total rebounds per game, ranking them 14th and 13th in basketball.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take New Orleans (-5.5) and over 226.5 points

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