New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 3/16/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Blazers

Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

Odds/Point Spread: New Orleans (+2.5)

The New Orleans Pelicans (17-22) travel to Moda Center on Tuesday where they'll meet the Portland Blazers (22-16). The odds on this matchup have Portland as 2.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 227.

The New Orleans Pelicans faced the Los Angeles Clippers and walked away with a win by a score of 135-115 in their last contest. New Orleans ended the game with a 65.4% FG percentage (53 out of 81) and converted 12 of their 26 shots from 3-point land. At the free throw line, the Pelicans made 17 of 21 attempts for a rate of 81.0%. When discussing getting rebounds, they collected 40 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 38 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. Pertaining to defending, New Orleans allowed 45.7% from the floor on 42 of 92 shooting. Los Angeles recorded 23 dimes and had 12 steals in this game. Additionally, Los Angeles had 32 boards (9 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 1 block. Los Angeles finished the game shooting 84.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of 19 attempts. They knocked down 15 of 43 tries from beyond the perimeter.

Zion Williamson is someone who was a major contributor for the game. He notched 27 points on 13 out of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 32:01 mins and pulled down 2 rebounds. Williamson shot 81.3% from the floor and recorded 5 assists. One more player that was a major contributor in this game for the Pelicans was Brandon Ingram. He snagged 4 rebounds in his 26:01 min on the court. He went 58.3% from the field for the contest by shooting 7-of-12 (23 points). In all, Ingram collected 5 assists.

New Orleans will play this contest with a win-loss record of 17-22 for the season. They have an average of 115.7 points per game (5th in the league) while shooting 48.6% from the field. The Pelicans are connecting on 35.5% on 3-pointers (437 of 1,231) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, New Orleans is grabbing 46.7 boards per contest and is sitting with 1,012 dimes this year, which has them ranked 3rd in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 14.2 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 17.5 fouls per game. On the defensive end, the Pelicans have forced 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 20.8 fouls. The Pelicans defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.4% (503 of 813) and they surrender 40.2 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 30th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,060 relinquished this year. They are relinquishing 39.1% on shots from distance and they are 27th in the league in PPG allowed (115.5).

When they last played, the Portland Blazers took a loss by a score of 114-112 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Blazers corralled 33 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 in this matchup. They also gave up possession 11 times, while recording 6 steals in this contest. The Timberwolves had 22 personal fouls for the contest which took the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 21 tries. They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a percentage of 81.0%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Portland buried 17 of 45 attempts (37.8%). Overall, the Blazers walked away from this one shooting 39 out of 89 from the floor which had them sitting at 43.8%. The Blazers permitted the Timberwolves to make 36 out of their 73 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 49.3% for the matchup. They finished 34.2% from 3-point land by shooting 13 of 38 and finished the contest at 29 out of 39 at the charity stripe (74.4%). In regard to cleaning the glass, Portland permitted Minnesota to snag 45 in all (5 on the offensive side).

Damian Lillard ended up being a factor for the Blazers for the contest. He knocked down 12 out of 21 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accounted for 7 rebounds. Lillard recorded 38 points in his 37:08 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 dimes for this contest. One more player that ended up playing a role for Portland was Gary Trent Jr.. He finished this one with 2 assists in his 33:48 mins on the court, and he shot 6 out of 14 from the floor. Trent walked away from this one going 42.9% from the floor as well as notching 21 points and 4 boards.

Portland has a mark of 22-16 for the campaign. The Blazers are committing 19.5 fouls every game and they connect on 82.8% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 20.3 times per game (30th in the NBA) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per contest. Portland has 4,365 points this year (114.9 per contest) and they pull in 43.9 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Blazers are connecting on 44.6% from the floor, which ranks them 26th in basketball. The Blazers defensively are ranked 25th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 115.4. The Portland defense surrenders 37.2% on shots from distance (489 of 1,315) and opponents are making 77.6% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 25.0 dimes and 46.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 20th and 24th in basketball. They are able to force 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 47.8% from the floor (27th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland (-2.5)

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