Boston Celtics vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 2/21/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Boston Celtics vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Sunday, February 21, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Boston (-3.5)

The New Orleans Pelicans (12-17) play the Boston Celtics (15-14) at Smoothie King Center on Sunday. New Orleans opens this game as 3.5-point dogs. The total has been set at 233.

The Boston Celtics stepped onto the hardwood against the Atlanta Hawks and earned the victory with a final of 121-109 in their last game. Boston finished the contest with a 55.6% field goal percentage (50 of 90) and converted 14 of their 35 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 7 of 10 attempts for a percentage of 70.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 44 with 9 of them being offensive. They also dished out 26 assists in this matchup in addition to earning 8 steals and 12 rejections. With respect to defense, Boston allowed their opponent to shoot 42.2% from the field on 38 out of 90 shooting. Atlanta distributed 21 assists and had 14 steals for this contest. Moreover, the Hawks collected 41 boards (13 offensive, 28 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Atlanta shot 92.0% when shooting free throws by burying 23 of their 25 shots. They buried 10 of their 30 shots from downtown.

Kemba Walker is a player who was a factor for the contest. He walked away with 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 33:34 minutes and also pulled down 5 rebounds. Walker finished the contest at 62.5% from the floor and earned 6 assists. Someone else that was a factor in this matchup for the Celtics was Jayson Tatum. He pulled down 8 rebounds and totaled 6 assists. He finished the game at 47.6% from the field in this game by hitting 10-of-21 (25 points). Overall, Tatum played 37:18 minutes.

Boston will take the court with a win-loss record of 15-14 on the year. They currently have an average of 110.7 points per game (22nd in the NBA) on 46.4% from the field. The Celtics are hitting 37.7% on shots from distance (361 of 957) and 76.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Boston is pulling in 43.8 boards per contest and has accumulated 645 assists for the year, which ranks 28th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 14.6 times per game and as a team they commit 21.1 fouls every game. When they are on defense, the Celtics are forcing 14.8 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.7 fouls. The Celtics defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 46.8% (429 of 571) and they surrender 42.3 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 10th in the NBA in allowing assists with 676 surrendered on the season. They surrender 35.2% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 6th in basketball in PPG allowed (109.4).

For their last game, the New Orleans Pelicans took a defeat with a final score of 132-114 against the Phoenix Suns. The Pelicans recorded 31 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for the game. They also turned away 3 tries while recording 11 steals for this game. The Suns were called for 17 fouls in the matchup which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 19 of them for a rate of 79.2%. With regard to shots from downtown, New Orleans buried 11 of their 32 tries (34.4%). In all, the Pelicans went 42 for 82 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 51.2%. The Pelicans allowed the Suns to convert 51 out of 88 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 58.0% for the contest. They finished shooting 56.4% from downtown by going 22 out of 39 and finished the contest at 8 of 12 from the charity stripe (66.7%). In relation to team rebounding, New Orleans permitted Phoenix to pull down 37 in total (4 offensive).

Brandon Ingram ended up being a major contributor for the Pelicans for this game. He made 10 out of 20 in the game for a field goal rate of 50.0%, which gave him 25 points. Ingram snagged 2 rebounds in his 33:12 mins of time on the hardwood and added 3 assists in this game. One more player that was pivotal for New Orleans was Zion Williamson. He racked up 23 points in 31:15 minutes on the court via 8 out of 11 shooting in this contest. Williamson wrapped this one up going 72.7% from the floor as well as contributing 4 assists and 5 total rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 12-17 for the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans are connecting on 48.2% from the floor, which is 6th in the league. New Orleans has accumulated 3,324 pts for the season (114.6 per game) and they pull in 45.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 25.0 times per contest (13th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.4 times per contest. The Pelicans have committed 17.5 fouls per game and they shoot 73.5% from the free throw line. The Pelicans are ranked 24th in the NBA in PPG allowed with 115.1. They relinquish 28.2 assists and 40.4 rebounds per contest, which is 30th and 1st in the league. The New Orleans defense surrenders 39.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (473 of 1,187) and opponents are making 79.8% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 47.4% from the floor (23rd in the NBA).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Boston (-3.5)

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