New Orleans Pelicans vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 3/21/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: New Orleans (+5.5)

The New Orleans Pelicans (17-24) are headed to Ball Arena on Sunday where they'll take on the Denver Nuggets (25-16). The spread on this game has Denver as 5.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 233.5.

The New Orleans Pelicans faced the Portland Blazers and took a loss by a score of 101-93 in their last contest. New Orleans finished the contest having earned a 39.8% field goal percentage (33 of 83) and buried 10 of their 37 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Pelicans made 17 of 25 attempts for a percentage of 68.0%. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they compiled 44 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 24 assists for this contest in addition to forcing 13 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of defense, New Orleans let their opponent shoot 37.9% from the field on 33 out of 87 shooting. Portland earned 11 dimes and had 8 steals in this contest. Moreover, Portland snagged 50 rebounds (14 offensive, 36 defensive) and earned 5 blocks. Portland finished the game at 84.0% at the charity stripe by burying 21 of 25 attempts. They also knocked down 14 of their 43 tries from beyond the arc.

Zion Williamson is a guy who came through in the game. He accumulated 26 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36:15 mins and snagged 10 rebounds. Williamson finished 52.9% from the field and also earned 3 dimes. Another guy that was a factor in the game for the Pelicans was Brandon Ingram. He pulled down 4 rebounds in his 34:58 minutes on the basketball court. He finished shooting 33.3% from the field in this matchup by shooting 7-of-21 (19 points). When the final whistle was blown, Ingram totaled 4 assists.

New Orleans comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 17-24 for the campaign. The Pelicans are shooting 35.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (463 of 1,301) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 115.4 points per game (5th in the NBA) while going 48.5% from the field. They cough up possession 14.2 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.7 personal fouls per contest. As a team, New Orleans is pulling in 46.5 boards per contest and has racked up 1,074 assists for the year, which is 7th in the league in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.8 personal fouls. The Pelicans defense is giving up a FG percentage of 47.3% (533 of 851) and they relinquish 40.2 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 28th in the NBA in allowing assists with 1,091 conceded for the campaign. They are giving up 39.0% from 3-point land while they are 26th in the league in PPG from their opponents (115.4).

The last time they took the court, the Denver Nuggets went home victorious with a score of 131-127 when they played the Chicago Bulls. The Nuggets earned 34 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 43 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 13 times, while earning 10 steals in this matchup. The Bulls committed 20 fouls for this contest which took the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 27 shots. They were able to make 21 of them for a percentage of 77.8%. In the matter of three-point shots, Denver buried 14 of their 34 tries (41.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Nuggets finished shooting 48 out of 91 from the floor which had them at 52.7%. The Nuggets permitted the Bulls to make 47 of their 90 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 52.2% for this game. They shot 48.6% from beyond the perimeter by going 17 of 35 and ended up shooting 16 out of 23 from the free throw line (69.6%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Denver allowed Chicago to collect 42 in total (9 on the offensive side).

Jamal Murray ended up having an impact for the Nuggets in the game. He knocked down 12 of 20 for this contest giving him a rate of 60.0%, and added 2 rebounds. Murray accumulated 34 points in his 42:29 minutes on the court and had 5 dimes for the game. Someone else who was a determining factor for Denver was Nikola Jokic. He left the arena with 9 assists in his 42:08 mins on the hardwood, and he converted 14 of 23 from the floor. Jokic finished going 60.9% from the floor in addition to contributing 34 points and 15 boards.

Denver has a record of 25-16 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Nuggets are shooting 48.8% from the field, which is ranked 3rd in basketball. Denver has totaled 4,758 points this season (116.0 per contest) and they pull in 44.0 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 26.9 times per game (4th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per game. The Nuggets commit 19.1 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.3% from the charity stripe. The Nuggets on defense are ranked 9th in basketball in PPG surrendered with 110.6. They are forcing their opponents into 14.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.9% from the field (18th in the NBA). The Denver defense surrenders 36.2% on 3-point shots (535 of 1,478) and their opposition knocks down 76.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 26.6 assists and 41.8 total boards per game, which has them ranked 28th and 5th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans (+5.5)

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