Pelicans vs Thunder Pick, Preview & Betting Odds For Monday, February 13th

Check out our free Pelicans vs Thunder pick and preview for this NBA game in Oklahoma City. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this NBA matchup.

Pelicans vs Thunder NBA Pick & Preview

Sport: NBA
Teams: New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder
Where: Oklahoma City at Paycom Center
Date: Monday, February 13th
Betting Odds OKC -2.5, NO +115 | OKC -137 O/U 235.5

The Pelicans come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 29-28. So far, the team has gone 27-30-0 against the spread. Across the team’s previous 3 games, they have gone 2-1 straight-up and 2-1 vs the spread.

New Orleans is trying to bounce back from a 118-107 loss to the Cavaliers. Going into this game, the team was 3 point underdogs on the spread, giving them an ATS loss. New Orleans got off to a slow start, trailing by 17 points going into halftime. In the loss, Brandon Ingram led the team in scoring with 25 points on a field goal percentage of 53.3%.

The Thunder come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 27-28. So far, the team has gone 35-20-0 against the spread. The Thunder entered today’s game having picked up 2 straight wins. This has come on an average scoring differential of 6.0 points per game.

The Thunder are coming off a 138-129 win over the Trail Blazers. This win came despite entering the game as the 2 point underdogs. Oklahoma City went into halftime with a narrow 4 point lead before being able to slightly add to that margin by the games end. In the win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team in scoring with 44 points on a field goal percentage of 81.2%.

Head To Head Recap & Stats

In the most recent game between the two teams, the Pelicans picked up a 105-101 win over the Thunder. However, heading into the game, New Orleans was favored to win by 6.0 points, giving the Thunder and ATS victory. So far this season, the Pelicans have a record of 2-0 vs the Thunder. Similar to their season-long average, the Pelicans averaged 108.33 points per game vs the Thunder. On the other side, Oklahoma City saw an improvement in their scoring numbers when playing the Pelicans, as they averaged 111.67 points per game in these matchups. The level of competition has been tight in the 5 most recent games between Pelicans and Thunder with just -1 points per game separating the teams. Oklahoma City has the ATS edge in this span at 4-1. In these contests, they averaged a combined 223 points per game, leading to an over-under mark of 3-2.

Odds & Free Betting Analysis For This NBA Game

Coming into today’s action, New Orleans is averaging 115.3 points per contest. This figure places them 11th in the league. Coming into today’s game, the Pelicans will be looking to improve their 3-point shooting numbers, as they are averaging just 10.9 made 3’s per game. If the New Orleans offense is going to turn things around, not only do they need to improve their outside shooting but they must do a better job protecting the ball. Currently, they are averaging 14.3 turnovers per game.

Defensively, New Orleans has had its problems giving up an average of 110.28 points per game (13th).

One situation to keep an eye on leading up the game is the availability of CJ McCollum, as he is currently questionable on the injury report. If he is able to play, the team will have it’s 1-2 punch availble as McCollum leads the team in scoring at 21.1 points per game while Valanciunas is 2nd at 14.5. For the season, McCollum is 51st in the NBA in usage rate and 114th in player efficiency. Behind him, Valanciunas has taken 12.0% of the team’s field goal attempts, connecting at a rate of 53.9%.

Through 55 games, Oklahoma City is the 3rd best scoring team at 117.9 points per game. Coming into today’s game, the Thunder will be looking to improve their 3-point shooting numbers, as they are averaging just 12.3 made 3’s per game. Oklahoma City appears to be a candidate to have some offensive regression as not only are the a below average outside shooting unit, but they are generating free-throws at a rate below the NBA average.

Currently, the Thunder defense is ranked 15th in points allowed. So far, opposing teams are averaging 111.83 points per game vs the unit.

This season, the Thunder offense has primarily worked through Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey who are 1st and 2nd on the team in scoring. In his 51 games, Gilgeous-Alexander is 5th in the NBA at 31.0 points per game. So far, him and Giddey have accounted for 37% of the team’s field goal attempts while combining to average 47.3 points per contest. In addition to sitting 2nd on the team in scoring, Josh Giddey is grabbing 7.9 rebounds for Oklahoma City to go along with 5.9 assists.