The Denver Nuggets will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday in a Western Conference pro hoops betting battle between two teams not heading to the postseason. Coming into Wednesday, the Denver Nuggets held a 31-44 record, which was 10th in the West. The Nuggets are 5.5 games behind Dallas, and 1.5 games ahead of Sacramento. For New Orleans, they are 27-46 on the season. The Pelicans are 12th in the West, ahead of Minnesota, Phoenix and the Lakers. Both teams are playing back to back games; as the Nuggets are at Memphis on Wednesday, and the Pelicans are in San Antonio.
How To Bet on Denver vs. New Orleans NBA Odds, TV and Game Info
When: Thursday, March 31 at 8:00 PM EST
Where: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA
TV: FSNOLA, Altitude
NBA Odds: TBA
Why Bet on the Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans have dropped 7 out of their last 10 games, but they are looking to win this one, to stay over .500 at the Smoothie King Arena. The Pelicans are coming off a win at home over the New York Knicks, which snapped their three game losing streak. New Orleans was led by Anthony Davis, with 24.3 points per game, but he has been out for the month of March. The Pelicans made the postseason a season ago, winning 45 games, but fell in the first round to the Golden State Warriors.
Why Bet on the Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets had won three out of four games, before their two straight losses at the Clippers, and at home to the Mavericks. The Nuggets are led in scoring by Danilo Gallinari, with 19.5 points per game. Denver is scoring 102.1 points per game, which ranks 18th in the league, while they are allowing teams to score 104.8 per game. The Nuggets won 30 games last season, and 36 the previous season. Denver will need to win 5 out of their final 7 games to match their win total from two seasons ago.
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction
Both of these teams are just an absolute mess. The New Orleans Pelicans have been without their top scorer Anthony Davis for a couple weeks now. The Denver Nuggets have actually been competitive in a couple games recently. This game could be ugly, and the biggest key in this game will be the home court advantage of New Orleans. While it does not mean much in the NBA, especially between two bad teams, it means enough. Bet the New Orleans Pelicans -4 over the Denver Nuggets.
The final score prediction: New Orleans 102 and Denver 92.
