New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/15/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports OK

The New Orleans Pelicans (8-21) are en route to Paycom Center on Wednesday where they will meet the Oklahoma City Thunder (8-18).

The Pelicans played the Spurs and ended up losing by a score of 112-97 in their last contest. New Orleans ended the contest with a 42.6% field goal percentage (40 of 94) and made 8 out of their 29 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Pelicans made 9 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 60.0%. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 42 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 24 assists in this matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 5 turnovers and having 8 steals. With respect to the defense, New Orleans allowed 49.5% from the floor on 45 out of 91 shooting. San Antonio recorded 55 assists and had 31 steals in this matchup. On top of that, San Antonio collected 40 rebounds (15 offensive, 25 defensive) and had 4 blocks. San Antonio walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the free throw line by making 15 of 20 attempts. They also buried 7 out of their 25 attempts from beyond the perimeter. In reference to fouls, the Pelicans walked away with 17 and the Spurs accounted for 13 fouls.

Brandon Ingram is one guy who was important for this contest. Ingram ended up going 44.0% from the floor and also recorded 9 assists. He played 39 minutes played and also totaled 7 boards. He scored 27 points on 11 of 25 shooting.

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New Orleans enters this game with a win-loss record of 8-21 so far this year. They are turning it over 15.1 times per game and as a squad they are committing 20.0 fouls per game. As a team, New Orleans is collecting 46.3 rebounds per game and has 705 dimes for the year, which is 7th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Pelicans are shooting 33.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (317 of 942) and 80.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 103.7 points per game (27th in basketball) while hitting 43.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 13.6 turnovers every game while drawing 19.1 personal fouls. They are ranked 26th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 711 surrendered so far this year. The Pelicans defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.3% (1,178 of 2,490) and they surrender 43.0 boards per game as a unit. They relinquish 36.8% on shots from downtown while they are 24th in the league in points per game allowed (109.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Thunder went home defeated by a final of 103-84 against the Mavericks. The Thunder were able to snag 36 defensive boards and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 3 steals for this contest. The Mavericks earned 6 personal fouls for the game which got the Thunder to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They were able to bury 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 68.8%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, Oklahoma City converted 13 of 37 tries (35.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Thunder shot 30 out of 80 from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.5%. The Thunder permitted the Mavericks to bury 38 of their 90 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 42.2% for this contest. They finished shooting 27.3% from three-point range by going 9 out of 33 and ended up shooting 18 out of 23 at the charity stripe (78.3%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Dallas to collect 44 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pitched in for the Thunder in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander accumulated 18 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and had 5 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 6 of 15 for the matchup giving him a rate of 40.0%, and added 4 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a mark of 8-18 for the season. The Thunder are committing 17.2 fouls per contest and they connect on 74.4% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 20.2 times per contest (30th in the league) and they turn it over 14.1 times per contest. Oklahoma City has totaled 2,562 pts on the season (98.5 per game) and they snag 45.6 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 41.0% from the floor, which is ranked 29th in basketball.

The Oklahoma City defense allows 36.4% on 3-point shots (374 of 1,027) and their opponents are connecting on 79.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 24.8 assists and 48.4 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 23rd and 30th in the league. The Thunder on the defensive end are ranked 18th in the league in PPG surrendered with 108.2. They have forced 13.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.6% from the field (11th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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