New Orleans Pelicans vs Washington Wizards Prediction, 1/5/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Washington Wizards

Date: Sunday, January 5, 2025

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, DC

TV: Monumental Sports Network

The Washington Wizards (6-25) will play the New Orleans Pelicans (5-29) at Capital One Arena on Sunday.

The Pelicans faced off with the Heat and went home with a loss by a final score of 119-108 in their last contest. New Orleans wrapped up the game having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (40 out of 80) and knocked down 9 of their 34 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Pelicans knocked down 19 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 86.4%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they collected 32 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 assists for this contest while creating 20 turnovers and getting 17 steals. When discussing defense, New Orleans allowed the other team to go 53.0% from the field on 44 of 83 shooting. Miami earned 19 assists and had 9 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Miami pulled down 39 boards (8 offensive, 31 defensive) and earned 1 block. Miami finished the game at 81.0% from the free throw line by converting 17 of their 21 attempts. They buried 14 of their 34 attempts from downtown. In the matter of fouls, the Pelicans ended up with 18 and the Heat totaled 20 fouls.

Trey Murphy III is someone who was a major factor in the game. He accumulated 34 points on 11 of 24 shooting. He was on the court for 39 mins played and snagged 4 boards. Murphy walked away from this one shooting 45.8% from the field and recorded 3 dimes.

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New Orleans comes into this game with a record of 5-29 on the season. They are averaging 106.7 points per game (28th in the league) on 44.1% from the field. The Pelicans are hitting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (382 of 1,146) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, New Orleans is grabbing 42.6 rebounds per contest and has 834 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 19th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 15.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 18.5 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 28th in the NBA in giving up assists with 971 conceded on the year. The Pelicans defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.6% (1,482 of 3,050) and they concede 45.4 boards per contest as a group. They relinquish 37.4% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 25th in the league in points per game allowed (118.0).

In their last game, the Wizards took home the win by a final score of 125-107 against the Bulls. The Wizards pulled down 31 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 45 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 17 times, while recording 7 steals for this contest. The Bulls committed 16 fouls in this game which took the Wizards to the charity stripe for 12 tries. They were able to make 10 of them for a rate of 83.3%. Pertaining to shooting from beyond the arc, Washington made 17 of their 36 tries (47.2%). When the game finished, the Wizards walked away from this one shooting 49 for 99 from the field which had them sitting at 49.5%. The Wizards allowed the Bulls to convert 41 out of 92 attempts from the field which had them shooting 44.6% for the game. They finished 29.8% from beyond the perimeter by hitting 14 of 47 and finished the game at 11 of 14 from the free throw line (78.6%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Washington allowed Chicago to pull down 34 overall (8 offensive).

Jordan Poole pitched in for the Wizards for this contest. Poole totaled 30 points in his 28 minutes on the court and accounted for 2 assists in the game. He converted 10 of 21 for this game for a field goal rate of 47.6%, and added 3 rebounds.

Washington has a record of 6-25 this season. The Wizards are committing 21.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 77.7% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.1 times per game (19th in the league) and they are turning it over 16.2 times per game. Washington has accounted for 3,376 pts for the season (108.9 per game) and they snag 44.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Wizards are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which is ranked 27th in the league.

The Wizards are ranked 30th in the league in points allowed per contest with 121.9. They are forcing 13.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 47.3% from the floor (21st in the league). The Washington defense surrenders 35.6% on shots from 3-point land (442 of 1,241) and opponents are knocking down 77.5% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 28.5 assists and 48.6 total rebounds per game, which is 25th and 30th in basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New Orleans

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