Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/6/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Fox Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+8)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (2-4) travel to Smoothie King Center on Wednesday where they'll take on the New Orleans Pelicans (4-3). New Orleans opens this game as 8-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 213.

The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped onto the hardwood against the Miami Heat and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 118-90 in their last contest. Oklahoma City wrapped up the contest with a 36.7% field goal percentage (29 of 79) and buried 13 out of their 48 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Thunder knocked down 19 of 27 shots for a percentage of 70.4%. With respect to rebounding, they compiled 38 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 20 assists for the contest as well as having 6 steals and 4 blocks. In terms of the defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to shoot 56.8% from the field on 46 of 81 shooting. Miami distributed 34 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. Furthurmore, the Heat grabbed 47 rebounds (4 offensive, 43 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. Miami shot 55.6% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 18 attempts. They knocked down 16 of their 34 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one guy who came through for the contest. He ended up with 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He was on the court for 27:51 mins and grabbed 2 boards. Gilgeous-Alexander finished the game shooting 46.7% from the floor and distributed 4 dimes. One more player that had an impact in this game for the Thunder was Darius Bazley. He pulled down 8 rebounds and had 2 assists. He ended up going 50.0% from the field for the game by connecting on 5-of-10 (16 points). In all, Bazley saw the court for 25:55 minutes.

Oklahoma City will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 2-4 so far this season. They average 100.5 points per game (30th in basketball) while hitting 43.5% from the floor. The Thunder are connecting on 31.4% from downtown (77 of 245) and 68.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Oklahoma City is pulling down 44.7 boards per contest and has 132 dimes so far this year, which is 28th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 17.2 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.8 fouls per game. When they are on defense, the Thunder are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game while drawing 19.7 fouls. They give up 36.4% from beyond the arc while they are 14th in the league in PPG allowed (110.8). The Thunder defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 46.7% (76 of 118) and they surrender 49.3 boards per game as a team. They are ranked 9th in the league in giving up assists with 155 conceded for the season.

The last time they took the court, the New Orleans Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 118-116 when they played the Indiana Pacers. The Pelicans were able to snag 41 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds for a total of 57 for this game. They also blocked 4 attempts while getting 5 steals in this contest. The Pacers committed 27 fouls in this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 24 shots. They were able to make 19 of them for a clip of 79.2%. Pertaining to 3-point attempts, New Orleans made 9 out of 27 attempts (33.3%). In all, the Pelicans finished shooting 44 for 101 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.6%. The Pelicans allowed the Pacers to convert 45 of 93 tries from the floor which had them shooting 48.4% for the game. They went 42.2% from 3-point land by connecting on 19 out of 45 and ended up going 9 out of 13 from the charity stripe (69.2%). In the matter of rebounds, New Orleans allowed Indiana to pull down 42 in total (5 offensive).

Brandon Ingram ended up being a major contributor for the Pelicans in the matchup. He knocked down 12 of 31 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 38.7%, which had him finishing with 31 points. Ingram had 4 boards in his 39:59 minutes of playing time and had 8 assists for this game. One more player who was a determining factor for New Orleans was Zion Williamson. He racked up 24 points in 35:08 minutes on the court by way of 9 of 19 from the floor for the game. Williamson ended the game having shot 47.4% from the floor as well as totaling 2 assists and 10 boards.

New Orleans has a record of 4-3 this year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are hitting on 44.5% from the floor, which is 20th in the NBA. New Orleans has earned 744 pts on the campaign (106.3 per game) and they collect 49.7 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 22.3 times per contest (24th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 16.6 times per game. The Pelicans have committed 17.3 personal fouls per contest and they hit 70.0% from the free throw line. The Pelicans on the defensive side of the court are 3rd in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 104.3. The New Orleans defense allows 35.2% on 3-point shots (108 of 307) and their opposition makes 80.3% of their free throw shots. They surrender 26.0 dimes and 40.3 boards per game, which has them ranked 23rd and 3rd in basketball. They have forced 15.4 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the field (6th in the league).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take New Orleans (-8) and under 213 points

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