New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 12/21/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Thursday, December 21, 2023

Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH

TV: Bally Sports Ohio

The New Orleans Pelicans (16-12) are headed to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday where they will attempt to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers (15-12).

The Pelicans faced the Grizzlies and took a loss by a final of 115-113 in their last contest. In regard to personal fouls, the Pelicans left the arena with 23 while the Grizzlies totaled 19 personal fouls. They also converted 10 out of their 31 attempts from distance. Memphis finished 79.3% at the free throw line by knocking down 23 of 29 attempts. Additionally, Memphis had 42 rebounds (13 offensive, 29 defensive) and added 3 blocks. Memphis doled out 19 dimes and had 5 steals in this game. When talking about defending, New Orleans allowed their opponent to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 41 out of 82 shooting. They also recorded 23 assists for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 17 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about pulling down rebounds, they earned 39 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Pelicans knocked down 22 of 24 shots for a rate of 91.7%. New Orleans finished having earned a 47.1% FG percentage (40 out of 85) and made 11 of their 25 3-pointers.

Brandon Ingram is one player who was a contributor in the matchup. Ingram ended up shooting 61.1% from the field and also distributed 6 dimes. He played 37 mins and grabbed 4 boards. He ended up with 34 points on 11 out of 18 shooting.

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New Orleans heads into this one with a win-loss record of 16-12 this season. They are giving up possession 13.6 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.0 fouls every game. As a team, New Orleans is pulling down 44.5 rebounds per game and has earned 739 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 6th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Pelicans are connecting on 36.7% from downtown (316 of 861) and 76.8% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 115.9 pts per contest (13th in the NBA) while shooting 48.0% from the field.

On defense, the Pelicans are forcing 14.5 turnovers per game while drawing 20.5 fouls. They relinquish 34.3% on 3-pointers and they are 16th in the NBA in PPG allowed (113.9). The Pelicans are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.6% (1,157 of 2,481) and they surrender 43.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They rank 27th in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 756 relinquished on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Cavaliers went home victorious with a score of 135-130 against the Rockets. The Cavaliers were able to snag 24 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds for a total of 38 in the game. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 7 steals in this matchup. The Rockets had 32 personal fouls for the contest which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 34 tries. They were able to convert 22 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 64.7%. With regard to three-point shots, Cleveland buried 19 out of their 48 tries (39.6%). Overall, the Cavaliers shot 47 out of 97 from the field which gave them a rate of 48.5%. The Cavaliers allowed the Rockets to bury 47 of their 102 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.1% for the game. They finished 36.4% from 3-point land by going 12 out of 33 and ended up going 24 out of 27 at the free throw line (88.9%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, Cleveland permitted Houston to grab 47 in total (15 on the offensive glass).

Donovan Mitchell ended up having an impact for the Cavaliers for the matchup. Mitchell had 37 points in his 45 mins on the court and had 6 dimes in the game. He converted 14 out of 27 for the game for a rate of 51.9%, and had 1 rebound.

Cleveland has a win-loss record of 15-12 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Cavaliers are connecting on 47.5% from the floor, which is ranked 12th in basketball. Cleveland has tallied 3,024 points this year (112.0 per game) and they collect 44.1 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 25.3 times per game (23rd in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. The Cavaliers have committed 19.5 fouls every game and they connect on 77.3% from the charity stripe.

The Cavaliers defensively are ranked 9th in the league in PPG surrendered with 111.9. They are forcing 14.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.7% from the floor (8th in the league). The Cleveland defense allows 36.3% from downtown (332 of 915) and opponents are making 79.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 24.7 dimes and 43.4 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 6th and 11th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland

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