Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 12/04/2024, 03:03  by Kennedy Kechula in NBA Predictions

The Golden State Warriors will welcome the New Orleans Pelicans in an exciting NBA regular season matchup. Both teams are separated by 2.5 games in the Western Conference with the sixth-placed Pelicans having the advantage over the Warriors in ninth. The Warriors have been in exceptional form and will arrive for this game fully confident of success. Steve Kerr’s men have won nine of their last 10 games and are currently on a three-game winning run. They are coming off a 100-92 victory over the Blazers on the first night of a back-to-back. The win moved them to within half a game of the top eight. Golden State are tied with the Lakers in 10th on a 45-35 record and have already qualified for the play-in. They however are targeting to finish in the 7-8 bracket to at least have two chances at making the playoffs proper. Klay Thompson and Draymond Green missed the trip to Portland and are not assured of being involved against the Pels. The Warriors, who won the first meeting of the season with the Pelicans, have averaged 117.3 points over their last three games.

The Pelicans seem to have gotten their groove back and will arrive here fully confident of a win. Especially considering they won emphatically the last time they were in Golden State. Willie Green’s men blew out their hosts 141-105 back in January which is also the last time both teams matched up. Another win will see them win this series 2-1. As the Warriors are angling to go up in the play-in, the Pelicans are looking to avoid this altogether. New Orleans currently holds the final automatic playoff spot. The team is however just a half a game clear of their closest challengers with two games left to go in the regular season. They defeated the Kings 135-123 last time out which is a result that the Warriors will be pleased by. The win stretched their current winning run to three matches. Before this purple patch, the Pels had lost four straight and had dropped out of the top six. Brandon Ingram remains sidelined and is likely to not play until the playoffs. Larry Nance Jr missed the trip to Sacramento due to personal reasons and could miss out here as well. In their last three games, the Pelicans, who are on a back-to-back, have averaged 119.3 points.