Bet on San Antonio vs New Orleans NBA Action

Posted by Ryan Knuppel on Wednesday,March 2, 2016 4:46, EDT in

Kawhi Leonard and the streaking San Antonio Spurs will look to handle Anthony Davis and the inconsistent New Orleans Pelicans when the two Western Conference ball clubs square off on Thursday night. While New Orleans has struggled in what was supposed to be a breakout campaign for the franchise, San Antonio is flying high and would be the talk of the entire league were it not for Golden State’s historic season. Now, let’s find out which team is going to win and cover the NBA odds line in this affair.

How to Bet the San Antonio vs. New Orleans NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday March 3, 8:00 PM ET
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
TV: TNT
Radio: WRNO 99,5
TV Stream: NBA on TNT
NBA Odds: TBA

Why Bet the San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs (50-9 SU, 37-22 ATS) are a great team to wager on because they’re far superior in every phase of the game. San Antonio has won five straight games and nine of its last 10 including their 104-94 win over defenseless Houston on Sunday while covering the spread as a 5.5-point road favorite. Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 27 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 26 points to help the Spurs improve to 7-1 record on their annual “Rodeo Road Trip” that takes place because of the annual San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo.

“This game is always very mental because it’s the last game on the road and everybody can’t wait to get home,” veteran point guard Tony Parker said. “This was a great win. Everybody was very focused.” The Spurs never trailed and led by 31 points at one point in the second half. “Our guys played well and stayed locked in the whole trip,” Aldridge said. “I think everybody was motivated to finish the trip off right.”

Why Bet the New Orleans Pelicans

There really isn’t a good reason to back New Orleans (23-25 SU, 24-34 ATS) in this contest outside of the fact that they’re playing at home. The Pelicans have lost two of its last three games including its heartbreaking 112-110 loss against feisty Minnesota as a 2-point home favorite on Sunday.

The Pelicans got 31 points from veteran guard Eric Gordon and veteran forward Ryan Anderson, who started in place of Davis, who sprained his big toe in warm-ups. “I don’t think it’s going to be one of those deals where he’s 100 percent, but more than likely we’ll rest him and I’m assuming he’ll be able to play in the next couple of days,”

New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. “I’m not quite sure the extent of it or how it will affect him, but we expect him to come back and play.”

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Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

The Pelicans have won two of the last three meetings against San Antonio, but I believe the Spurs are the easy pick to win this contest, seeing as how Anthony Davis likely won’t be at full strength if he plays because of a sprained toe, combined with the fact that San Antonio is back at home and well-rested after a long road trip. While the home team in this rivalry is 28-11 ATS in the last 39 meetings and the Spurs are just 1-9 ATS in the last 10 rod games against New Orleans, the Pelicans are just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing SU record.

Conversely, the Spurs are 6-0 ATS in their last six games against teams from the Southwest division, 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games against a team with a winning home record and 18-8 ATS in their last 26 games against their Western Conference counterparts. San Antonio wins by six points at the least.

My final score prediction: San Antonio 104 New Orleans 98