Atlanta Hawks vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 4/2/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Atlanta Hawks vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, April 2, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports NO

Odds/Point Spread: Atlanta (+1.5)

The Atlanta Hawks (23-24) go to Smoothie King Center on Friday where they'll take on the New Orleans Pelicans (21-25). The odds on this matchup have New Orleans as 1.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 220.

The Atlanta Hawks played the Phoenix Suns and went home with a loss by a final score of 117-110 in their last contest. Atlanta wrapped up the contest having earned a 48.2% FG percentage (41 of 85) and converted 13 of their 32 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Hawks converted 15 of their 21 tries for a rate of 71.4%. Regarding hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 36 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 30 dimes for the game in addition to forcing the opposition into 13 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With respect to defending, Atlanta allowed the other team to go 51.1% from the field on 45 out of 88 shooting. Phoenix distributed 27 dimes and had 6 steals for the contest. In addition, Phoenix pulled down 49 rebounds (11 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 1 block. Phoenix finished shooting 83.3% from the free throw line by making 15 of their 18 attempts. They also converted 12 of 32 attempts from distance.

Bogdan Bogdanovic is a player who was a major factor for the matchup. He totaled 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played 37:11 mins and also grabbed 4 rebounds. Bogdanovic finished 44.4% from the field and earned 6 dimes. One more player that was a factor in the matchup for the Hawks was Trae Young. He pulled down 2 rebounds in 32:33 minutes on the basketball court. He finished the game shooting 31.3% from the field in the game by shooting 5-of-16 (19 points). Overall, Young collected 13 assists.

Atlanta comes into this contest with a mark of 23-24 so far this season. They average 112.4 points per outing (15th in basketball) while going 46.0% from the field. The Hawks are hitting 36.4% on shots beyond the perimeter (591 of 1,624) and 81.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Atlanta is grabbing 45.4 boards per contest and has 1,140 dimes on the year, which is 19th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.7 times per game and as a squad are committing 19.8 personal fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Hawks are able to force 12.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.2 fouls. The Hawks defense is allowing a FG percentage of 46.0% (587 of 951) and they relinquish 42.7 boards per game as a team. They are 12th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,130 surrendered this season. They are surrendering 35.1% on shots from distance while they are 13th in basketball in PPG allowed (111.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the New Orleans Pelicans got the win with a final of 115-109 against the Boston Celtics. The Pelicans earned 39 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 47 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 8 steals for this contest. The Celtics had 25 fouls in this matchup which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 30 attempts. They were able to convert 17 of the free throws for a percentage of 56.7%. With respect to shots from beyond the perimeter, New Orleans converted 16 out of 31 attempts (51.6%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pelicans shot 41 out of 82 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. The Pelicans permitted the Celtics to make 40 of their 93 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.0% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 32.6% from 3-point land by going 14 of 43 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). With respect to rebounding, New Orleans allowed Boston to get 46 in total (12 offensive).

Zion Williamson was important for the Pelicans for this contest. He buried 11 out of 22 for the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and accounted for 8 rebounds. Williamson racked up 28 points in his 31:24 mins on the hardwood and had 3 dimes in this contest. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for New Orleans was Brandon Ingram. He ended up with 9 assists in 36:51 mins on the hardwood, and he shot 7 out of 17 from the floor. Ingram finished going 41.2% from the field while earning 25 points and 1 rebound.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 21-25 so far this season. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 17.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 73.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.3 times per contest (9th in the NBA) and they turn it over 14.1 times per game. New Orleans has 5,306 pts on the season (115.3 per contest) and they collect 46.3 boards per game. As an offense, the Pelicans are connecting on 48.7% from the field, which ranks them 4th in basketball. The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 25th in the league in PPG allowed with 114.7. The New Orleans defense concedes 39.0% on shots from distance (701 of 1,798) and their opponents are converting on 80.5% of their free throw shots. They give up 26.4 dimes and 40.0 total rebounds per game, which ranks 27th and 1st in the league. They are forcing 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 47.1% from the floor (23rd in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans (-1.5)

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