One team will advance and the other will go home after tonight’s play-in game between the Thunder and Pelicans. You can watch the game live from 10:00 pm ET on ESPN, and I’ve prepared a Same Game Parlay to spice things up a bit.
We also have predictions for the other Wednesday play-in game on our NBA predictions, so don’t forget to check those out. Let’s dive into my Thunder vs Pelicans SGP bet now!
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The Pels opened as 5.5 favorites at home for this game, and winning by 6 points does sound like a lot considering they beat the Thunder by just 4, 3 and 3 points in their 3 games during the regular season. This being an elimination game, I doubt either team will allow the other to pull away as every possession will count. OKC has been able to cover the spread 10 times in the last 14 meetings, and in 6 straight visits to Smoothie King Center. In fact, the Thunder have been the most consistent team against the spread this season with a 47-34-1 ATS record overall and 23-17-1 ATS on the road. Injuries have taken a toll on both teams, but with Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum at their disposal the Pelicans should have enough to pull this one out. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging over 33 points per game in 4 meetings this season, so stopping him will be a priority. I’ll go with the Pelicans, who are 9-3 SU in their last 12 and 5-1 SU in their last 6 at home.
Wednesday’s NBA mega parlay has +1108 odds!
Scoring 30+ points in the postseason and the playoffs (or play-in tournament for that matter) is not the same thing. In an elimination game, I’m expecting the Pelicans’ gameplan to revolve around slowing down SGA, which should force him to give up the ball to his teammates. One of the more reliable scoring options for the Thunder this year has been Josh Giddey, who finished the regular season averaging 19.3 points per game in his last 10 outings. What makes me even more confident he’ll have a good scoring game is the fact that he scored at least 17 points in the last 3 meetings against the Pelicans. He shot the ball at an unreal 58.1% efficiency during that stretch and the shorthanded Pelicans could have a hard time stopping him.
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SGA averaged 33.5 points per game against New Orleans during the regular season, but it’ll be tough to replicate that number in tonight’s game. The stakes are a lot higher than in their previous meetings and with the game slowing down and the paint clogging up with defenders, SGA, who isn’t lethal from behind the 3-point line, might struggle. Thankfully he is capable of doing other things for his team, as we saw in the 4 games played against the Pelicans this season. He cleared the 5.5-rebound line in all 4 of those games, averaging 8 per game. New Orleans is one of the tougher teams to beat on the board this season, which is exactly why I think head coach Mark Daigneault will make it an emphasis for his best player to step up. SGA finished the year averaging 5 boards per game over his last 10 outings, but that’s with only 35.1 minutes a night. In tonight’s play-in game he’s likely to go over 40 minutes, so getting one extra rebound sounds realistic.
Have you read our Bulls vs Raptors Same Game Parlay?
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