New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/23/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Friday, December 23, 2022

Location: Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma

Paycom Center is the site where the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.

The Pelicans faced the Bucks and took a loss by a final of 128-119 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Pelicans finished with 20 and the Bucks recorded 21 fouls. They also buried 13 out of their 40 tries from distance. Milwaukee ended up shooting 80.6% from the free throw line by knocking down 25 of their 31 shots. Additionally, Milwaukee collected 44 rebounds (8 offensive, 36 defensive), but didn't have a block. Milwaukee totaled 26 assists and had 8 steals for this game. In regard to the defense, New Orleans allowed the other team to shoot 55.6% from the floor on 45 out of 81 shooting. They also dished out 30 assists in this contest while forcing 17 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 44 with 17 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Pelicans buried 17 of their 24 attempts for a percentage of 70.8%. New Orleans wrapped up the contest with a 42.4% FG percentage (42 out of 99) and converted 18 out of their 45 shots from distance.

Jonas Valanciunas is one guy who was a contributor for the matchup. He ended up scoring 37 points on 14 of 24 shooting. He played 37 minutes and totaled 18 rebounds. Valanciunas shot 58.3% from the floor and earned 5 dimes.

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New Orleans enters this matchup with a record of 18-12 on the year. They are giving up possession 15.0 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 20.2 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, New Orleans is collecting 44.9 boards per contest and has accounted for 809 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 11th in the league in terms of passing. The Pelicans are shooting 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc (337 of 918) and 78.4% from the charity stripe. They average 117.3 points per outing (3rd in the league) while shooting 48.5% from the floor.

Defensively, the Pelicans have forced 16.1 turnovers every game and they draw 20.5 fouls. They give up 33.7% from 3-point land while they are 14th in basketball in points per game from their opponents (112.5). The Pelicans defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 46.4% (1,239 of 2,668) and they surrender 42.3 boards per game as a squad. They are ranked 9th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 765 relinquished this year.

The last time they took the court, the Thunder went home victorious with a score of 101-98 when they played the Trail Blazers. Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Portland to snag 36 in total (9 offensive). They finished 38.9% from three-point range by hitting 14 of 36 and finished the game at 6 of 9 from the charity stripe (66.7%). The Thunder allowed the Trail Blazers to make 39 out of 79 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 49.4% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Thunder shot 36 for 77 from the floor which had them shooting 46.8%. With regard to shots from distance, Oklahoma City knocked down 8 out of 24 tries (33.3%). They were able to convert 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 84.0%. The Trail Blazers committed 22 personal fouls for this contest which got the Thunder to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They turned the ball over 18 times, while getting 9 steals for the contest. The Thunder recorded 28 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for the contest.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was important for the Thunder for the game. Gilgeous-Alexander accumulated 27 points in his 35 mins of playing time and accounted for 3 assists for this game. He knocked down 8 out of 19 in the matchup giving him a rate of 42.1%, and added 6 rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a win-loss record of 14-18 for the season. The Thunder are committing 21.4 fouls per game while shooting 79.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.2 times per game (18th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.4 times per contest. Oklahoma City has totaled 3,683 pts for the year (115.1 per contest) and they grab 44.5 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 46.0% from the floor, which is ranked 22nd in the league.

The Oklahoma City defense concedes 36.6% on shots from 3-point land (423 of 1,157) and their opposition makes 78.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 24.7 assists and 48.0 boards per game, which is ranked 11th and 30th in basketball. The Thunder on the defensive end are ranked 25th in the league in points per game surrendered with 116.5. They are forcing 16.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.6% from the floor (12th in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans

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