Washington Wizards vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/28/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Washington Wizards vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Saturday, January 28, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Washington (+4)

Smoothie King Center is the site where the New Orleans Pelicans will play the Washington Wizards on Saturday. Washington is 4-point dogs from oddsmakers. The total is set at 230.

The Wizards played the Rockets and notched a win by a score of 108-103 in their last game. Washington finished with a 39.8% field goal percentage (39 of 98) and made 12 of their 38 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Wizards converted 18 of 23 attempts for a percentage of 78.3%. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 48 with 15 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 27 dimes for this contest while forcing 14 turnovers and getting 13 steals. In terms of defense, Washington allowed 43.3% from the field on 42 of 97 shooting. Houston earned 29 dimes and had 5 steals for the game. Furthermore, Houston pulled down 57 rebounds (17 offensive, 40 defensive) and had 7 blocks. Houston finished the contest at 70.0% at the charity stripe by making 14 of 20 attempts. They converted 5 out of their 28 tries from distance. When discussing personal fouls, the Wizards finished with 16 and the Rockets had 15 personal fouls.

Kyle Kuzma is someone who came through in the matchup. He notched 33 points on 12 out of 25 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 41 minutes played and pulled down 9 boards. Kuzma walked away from this one shooting 48.0% from the floor and also totaled 2 dimes.

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Washington enters this contest with a mark of 22-26 this year. They are turning it over 13.8 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.5 fouls per game. As a unit, Washington is grabbing 44.2 boards per game and has 1,210 assists this season, which has them ranked 15th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Wizards are connecting on 34.9% on three-point attempts (534 of 1,530) and 77.6% from the free throw line. They average 112.7 pts per contest (20th in basketball) while shooting 47.9% from the field.

On defense, the Wizards are able to force 12.4 turnovers per game while drawing 19.7 personal fouls. They are surrendering 35.9% on 3-pointers and they are 16th in the NBA in opponents PPG (113.4). The Wizards defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.4% (2,005 of 4,324) and they relinquish 43.6 boards per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 5th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,131 conceded on the campaign.

For their last game, the Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-102 when they faced the Timberwolves. In regard to cleaning up the glass, New Orleans allowed Minnesota to collect 36 overall (4 offensive). They shot 37.9% from distance by shooting 11 out of 29 and ended up shooting 20 of 28 from the free throw line (71.4%). The Pelicans allowed the Timberwolves to convert 40 of their 82 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.8% in this game. When the game finished, the Pelicans shot 37 for 85 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.5%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 12 of their 38 tries (31.6%). They were able to make 16 of them for a percentage of 76.2%. The Timberwolves earned 18 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They turned it over 14 times, while getting 4 steals in this contest. The Pelicans pulled down 34 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 42 for this game.

CJ McCollum was important for the Pelicans in this game. McCollum earned 25 points in his 34 minutes on the court and earned 8 assists for this game. He made 9 of 17 for this game for a rate of 52.9%, and totaled 5 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 26-23 this year. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 20.4 personal fouls per game and they connect on 77.8% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 25.9 times per game (9th in the league) and they turn it over 15.3 times per game. New Orleans has totaled 5,652 points so far this season (115.3 per game) and they snag 44.4 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pelicans are shooting 47.8% from the field, which is ranked 11th in the league.

The Pelicans on the defensive end are ranked 14th in the league in points allowed per contest with 113.1. They are forcing 15.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.3% from the floor (17th in basketball). The New Orleans defense gives up 34.1% on 3-point shots (601 of 1,760) and their opposition knocks down 78.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 25.2 dimes and 41.7 rebounds per game, which ranks them 14th and 4th in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans (-4)

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