Cleveland Cavaliers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 21/12/2023, 04:19  by Joseph King | Modified on 21/12/2023 at 04:20 in NBA Predictions

Thursday in the NBA sees the Eastern Conference’s sixth-place Cleveland Cavaliers take on the West’s seventh-placed New Orleans Pelicans. The 16-12 Cavaliers will look to put the finishing touches on a perfect four game homestand before hitting the road to take on the Bulls. Cleveland has won their last three in a row following a 124-116 victory over the Jazz on Wednesday. They’ll have to deal with playing the second game of a back-to-back here but at least won’t have any travel fatigue to worry about. Cleveland have yet again been bitten by the injury bug, a problem that has haunted them all season. They’re now looking at a period of at least six weeks without duo Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, both hugely important to the offensive and defensive production. They were also without star shooting guard Donovan Mitchell in the win over Utah, making the victory even more impressive.

The Pelicans saw a four game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday after losing 115-113 to the Memphis Grizzlies courtesy of a Ja Morant winner. The defeat leaves the Pels sitting seventh in the crowded Western Conference with an identical 16-12 record to their opponents today. New Orleans could be without two of their most important players for this one after center Jonas Valančiūnas and power forward Zion Williamson have both popped up on the injury report as ‘questionable’ due to an illness. The Pelicans have a road record of 7-7 on the year although have won their last three straight on their travels. However, the opposition certainly wasn’t of the highest quality in those recent road victories as they beat the Hornets, Wizards and Spurs. They hit the road for just the one game against Cleveland before returning back to New Orleans for a matchup vs the Rockets.