Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/26/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, March 26, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Fox Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (-2.5)

Smoothie King Center is the venue where and the New Orleans Pelicans (19-24) will play the Denver Nuggets (26-18) on Friday. New Orleans opens this game as 2.5-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 230.

The Denver Nuggets took the court against the Toronto Raptors and took a loss by a score of 135-111 in their last game. Denver finished the game having earned a 41.8% field goal percentage (41 out of 98) and made 14 out of their 43 shots from distance. From the free throw line, the Nuggets buried 15 of 18 attempts for a percentage of 83.3%. With regard to getting rebounds, they compiled a total of 46 with 17 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 25 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Concerning the defense, Denver allowed their opponent to shoot 50.6% from the field on 45 of 89 shooting. Toronto distributed 31 dimes and had 3 steals in this game. On top of that, Toronto grabbed 45 rebounds (9 offensive, 36 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Toronto finished the game shooting 91.3% from the free throw line by making 21 of their 23 attempts. They made 24 of their 48 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Jamal Murray is someone who played a role in this contest. He accumulated 20 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34:35 mins and collected 2 rebounds. Murray went 47.1% from the field and totaled 7 assists. Another guy that had an impact in this game for the Nuggets was Nikola Jokic. He collected 10 rebounds in 29:38 minutes played. He went 57.1% from the floor for the matchup via 8-of-14 (20 points). When the final whistle blew, Jokic had 5 assists.

Denver comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 26-18 on the season. The Nuggets are hitting 38.4% on 3-point shots (587 of 1,529) and 78.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 115.6 points per game (4th in basketball) while hitting 48.7% from the field. They cough up possession 13.4 times per game and as a unit are committing 19.2 personal fouls every game. As a team, Denver is snagging 44.1 boards per contest and has accounted for 1,181 assists this year, which is 3rd in the NBA in terms of passing. On defense, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 14.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.5 fouls. They are currently ranked 29th in basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,175 surrendered this year. The Nuggets defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 47.0% (628 of 859) and they relinquish 41.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are relinquishing 36.4% on shots from downtown and they are 12th in the league in points per game from their opponents (111.0).

The last time they took the court, the New Orleans Pelicans went home victorious with a score of 128-111 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans corralled 42 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 53 in this contest. They gave up possession 13 times, while recording 9 steals in this matchup. The Lakers were called for 17 fouls in this game which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They were able to convert 24 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 92.3%. In relation to shooting from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 10 of 29 attempts (34.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Pelicans ended up shooting 47 for 90 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.2%. The Pelicans allowed the Lakers to convert 36 of 85 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.4% for the contest. They went 48.6% from distance by hitting 18 out of 37 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 30 from the free throw line (70.0%). When discussing rebounds, New Orleans permitted Los Angeles to grab 34 overall (6 offensive).

Brandon Ingram ended up being important for the Pelicans for the matchup. He made 14 out of 21 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and had 3 rebounds. Ingram recorded 36 points in his 34:09 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists for the game. One more player that ended being a contributor for New Orleans was Zion Williamson. He ended up with 5 assists in his 28:58 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 9 out of 13 from the floor. Williamson walked away from this one going 69.2% from the floor while also earning 27 points and 9 total rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 19-24 this year. New Orleans has totaled 4,971 points on the season (115.6 per contest) and they snag 46.6 boards per game. The Pelicans have committed 17.7 personal fouls per game and they hit 73.7% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Pelicans are hitting on 48.6% from the floor, which ranks them 5th in the league. They are assisting teammates 26.2 times per contest (8th in the league) and they are turning it over 14.2 times per game. The Pelicans defensively are ranked 25th in the league in PPG given up with 115.1. The New Orleans defense surrenders 39.1% on 3-pointers (663 of 1,696) and opponents are converting on 80.6% of their free throw shots. They surrender 26.7 dimes and 40.0 boards per game, which is 28th and 1st in the league. They are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 47.2% from the field (23rd in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver (-2.5)

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