Milwaukee Bucks vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/19/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Milwaukee Bucks vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Monday, December 19, 2022

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans will take on the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.

The Bucks stepped onto the hardwood against the Jazz and went home with a win by a final score of 123-97 in their last game. Milwaukee ended the contest with a 53.3% field goal percentage (48 of 90) and converted 18 of their 38 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Bucks converted 9 of their 11 tries for a rate of 81.8%. In terms of grabbing boards, they earned 54 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 30 dimes in this matchup while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In the matter of defense, Milwaukee allowed the other team to go 45.3% from the floor on 39 out of 86 shooting. Utah doled out 24 assists and had 5 steals for this contest. Moreover, Utah collected 29 rebounds (7 offensive, 22 defensive) and earned 3 blocked shots. Utah ended up going 50.0% from the charity stripe by burying 3 of their 6 attempts. They converted 16 of their 47 shots from beyond the arc. In regard to personal fouls, the Bucks left the arena with 13 while the Jazz accounted for 13 personal fouls.

Bobby Portis is one guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. Portis ended up going 56.3% from the field and earned 1 assist. He played 30 mins played and also collected 14 rebounds. He ended up with 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting.

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Milwaukee heads into this one with a win-loss record of 21-8 for the season. They average 112.6 points per contest (17th in the league) while hitting 45.9% from the field. The Bucks are hitting 35.2% on shots from 3-point land (382 of 1,086) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Milwaukee is pulling in 48.6 boards per game and has racked up 726 assists this season, which is 16th in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.9 times per game and as a unit they commit 18.6 fouls per game.

On defense, the Bucks are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.7 fouls. They rank 1st in basketball in giving up assists with 633 conceded on the campaign. The Bucks are allowing a field goal percentage of 44.9% (1,177 of 2,621) and they concede 43.3 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 4th in the league in PPG allowed (108.4).

For their last game, the Pelicans took a loss by a score of 118-114 against the Suns. The Pelicans were able to corral 32 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 36 in this matchup. They also turned it over 16 times, while recording 2 steals for this contest. The Suns had 13 personal fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 13 tries. They were able to make 10 of the free throws for a percentage of 76.9%. In reference to 3-point attempts, New Orleans converted 14 out of their 30 tries (46.7%). When all was said and done, the Pelicans finished shooting 45 out of 77 from the floor which had them shooting 58.4%. The Pelicans allowed the Suns to convert 39 out of their 83 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 47.0% for the matchup. They finished 36.6% from distance by hitting 15 of 41 and finished the game at 25 out of 35 at the free throw line (71.4%). Regarding rebounding, New Orleans permitted Phoenix to snag 35 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Zion Williamson ended up having an impact for the Pelicans for the matchup. Williamson earned 30 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and had 9 dimes in the matchup. He made 12 out of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 80.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

New Orleans has a mark of 18-11 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the ball, the Pelicans are hitting on 48.7% from the field, which ranks 4th in the league. New Orleans has totaled 3,401 points this season (117.3 per contest) and they pull in 44.9 boards per game. They are earning an assist 26.9 times per game (7th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 15.0 times per contest. The Pelicans commit 20.2 personal fouls every game and they connect on 78.7% from the charity stripe.

The New Orleans defense gives up 33.8% from downtown (371 of 1,098) and their opposition knocks down 78.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 25.5 assists and 42.3 rebounds every game, which ranks them 17th and 8th in the NBA. The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 12th in the league in points allowed per game with 112.0. They are forcing their opponents into 16.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.2% from the field (8th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Milwaukee

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