NBA Regular Season 2023/24, Wednesday, March 27, 2024
The in-form teams from New Orleans and Oklahoma City are set for a real heavyweight clash on Wednesday night. So excitement should be guaranteed in the Big Easy!
My Pelicans Thunder tip, for which you can redeem the current Bwin voucher, explains why I expect an exciting but low-scoring duel at eye level
With a record of 44-27, the New Orleans Pelicans are currently in fourth place in the Western Conference, tied with the fifth-placed Clippers (direct comparison for Nola).
The ambitious waterfowl have only lost three of their last eleven games, although they were shown their limits by the defensively strong East contenders Cleveland (-21) and Orlando (-15).
Alongside Boston, Denver and tonight’s guests from Oklahoma, New Orleans is only one of four teams in the top 10 at both ends of the floor.
The South’s offense is currently the tenth-best (rating of 117), while the defense is the sixth-best in the league (111.4).
And unlike the Thunder, they can’t even count on a real rim protector.
But with Herb Jones (0.9 blocks, 1.3 steals and 43.1% from the three-point line), they have one of the most versatile and accurate wing defenders in their ranks.
Meanwhile, NOLA figurehead Zion Williamson (22.6 points and 5 assists on 58.6% from the field) is currently playing the most versatile and team-serving season of his somewhat enigmatic career to date and appears to be in the best physical shape since his college days.
The “undersized big man” is complemented by co-star forward Brandon Ingram (20.9 points and 5.8 assists), who will miss the game against the Thunder due to injury, and guard C.J. McCollum (18.6 points on 41.8% from the three-point line).
The visitors from the Midwest, meanwhile, are in second place in the Western Conference (49-21 record), just one game behind the title-defending Nuggets.
Although they have only lost three of their last ten games, one of those defeats came in their last game at the Milwaukee Bucks, where they were literally swept out of the arena with a 93-118 away win.
The young team led by star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the second youngest in the league after all, will be keen to make amends after their weakest performance of the season so far.
The Thunder are benefiting from the fact that Canadian Gilgeous-Alexander has confirmed his superstar season from last year and is a genuine MVP candidate with 30.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.1 steals (1st place) with strong ratings (54.1% from the field).
The 25-year-old is backed up by an outstanding supporting cast, from which four other players score ten or more points per game.
Rookie big man Chet Holmgren in particular is proving to be the perfect addition for SGA with 17 points, 7.9 rebounds and a phenomenal 2.4 blocks with strong shooting percentages (53.6% from the field and 38.4% from downtown).
So it’s hardly surprising that the successors of the legendary Seattle SuperSonics have the fifth-best offense in the league (rating of 118.6), while the defense is the fifth-best with a rating of 111.4.
The two previous meetings this season in Oklahoma City and New Orleans both ended in away wins, with a maximum of 216 points scored in each game.
In tonight’s game, I expect another long, close game dominated by the two elite defenses.
The Louisiana-based Brown Pelicans will be missing their second-leading scorer, while Zion should have its problems with OKC’s almost twenty centimeters taller rim protector Holmgren.
On the other side, the hosts have several suitable defenders in Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III, Naji Marshall and Herb Jones to prevent a gala performance by Thunder star SGA.
My prediction of under 223.5 points in the game today is also supported by the fact that the Thunder are averaging just 110.5 points in their 11 games so far against the other four teams ranked in the top 10 at both ends of the field and have fallen short of said scoring mark in eight of 11 games (averaging 216.5 points in said matches).
The Pelicans are averaging 110.9 points in games against both offensively and defensively elite teams, but without Ingram today, they’ll have to get there first.
The Bucks, meanwhile, have shown the Pelicans how to get the better of the young Thunder offense.
For this reason, I expect a game at eye level that is particularly appealing for defensive connoisseurs, in which a maximum of 223 points can be expected, which is rewarded with odds of around 1.95 with the tax-free betting providers.
My Pelicans Thunder tip: Under 223.5 points in the game!
