Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 4/7/2022 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, April 7, 2022

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: ROOT SPORTS

The Portland Trail Blazers (27-52) are on their way to Smoothie King Center on Thursday where they will play the New Orleans Pelicans (35-44).

The Trail Blazers played the Thunder and went home with a loss by a final score of 98-94 in their last game. Portland ended with a 42.2% field goal percentage (35 of 83) and made 11 of 32 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Trail Blazers converted 13 of 16 attempts for a rate of 81.3%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they collected 40 with 10 of them being offensive. They also doled out 24 assists for this game in addition to forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and earning 10 steals. In the matter of defending, Portland allowed their opponent to shoot 48.1% from the floor on 39 of 81 shooting. Oklahoma City totaled 47 assists and had 15 steals in this matchup. Furthermore, Oklahoma City collected 34 rebounds (13 offensive, 21 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Oklahoma City went 50.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 11 of 22 attempts. They also buried 9 out of their 29 shots from three-point range. In relation to fouls, the Trail Blazers walked away with 19 while the Thunder racked up 16 fouls.

Keon Johnson is one player who was a major contributor for this contest. Johnson shot 50.0% from the field and totaled 7 assists. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and pulled down 6 boards. He ended up scoring 18 points on 7 out of 14 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Picks Today

Portland will enter this matchup with a mark of 27-52 this year. They are turning it over 14.3 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 20.9 personal fouls per contest. As a unit, Portland is grabbing 43.4 boards per game and has 1,811 dimes for the season, which ranks 26th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Trail Blazers are hitting 34.8% on shots from distance (1,016 of 2,920) and 76.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 107.1 pts per contest (26th in basketball) while hitting 44.3% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Trail Blazers have forced 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 30th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,105 relinquished on the campaign. The Trail Blazers defense is giving up a FG percentage of 47.9% (3,250 of 6,791) and they concede 44.4 boards per game as a squad. They are giving up 37.1% from 3-point land while they are 27th in the NBA in opponents PPG (114.8).

In their last game, the Pelicans got the victory with a final of 123-109 when they faced the Kings. When discussing attacking the glass, New Orleans allowed Sacramento to grab 31 in total (3 on the offensive side). They finished 36.7% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 11 of 30 and finished the contest at 20 out of 22 at the charity stripe (90.9%). The Pelicans permitted the Kings to bury 39 out of their 76 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 51.3% in the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Pelicans went 45 for 88 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 51.1%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, New Orleans made 12 of 25 tries (48.0%). They were able to make 21 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 80.8%. The Kings earned 15 fouls for this game which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for 26 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while getting 13 steals for this game. The Pelicans corralled 30 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 44 for the matchup.

Jaxson Hayes ended up having an impact for the Pelicans for this contest. He made 10 of 14 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and had 12 rebounds. Hayes had 23 points in his 29 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in the game.

New Orleans has a mark of 35-44 for the season. As an offensive team, the Pelicans are shooting 45.7% from the floor, which ranks 22nd in the NBA. New Orleans has scored 8,614 points for the campaign (109.0 per game) and they snag 45.4 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 24.9 times per contest (13th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.1 times per game. The Pelicans commit 19.7 fouls per game and they hit 78.9% from the charity stripe.

The Pelicans are ranked 13th in the NBA in points given up per game with 109.9. They are forcing 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.7% from the field (21st in the league). The New Orleans defense concedes 36.1% on 3-point attempts (1,016 of 2,814) and opponents are making 78.5% of their foul shots. They have given up 24.5 assists and 41.9 total rebounds per game, which is 14th and 3rd in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Portland

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here