The No. 9 seed New Orleans Pelicans and the No. 10 seed Oklahoma City Thunder will meet in an NBA Play-In Tournament elimination game on Wednesday night. New Orleans won nine of its final 12 games in the regular season to clinch home-court advantage for this game. The winner of Wednesday's game earns a date with Minnesota on Friday night to determine the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Tipoff from Smoothie King Center is set for 9:30 p.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook lists New Orleans as the 6-point favorite in the Thunder vs. Pelicans odds. The over/under for total points is set at 226.5. Before locking in any Pelicans vs. Thunder picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past four-plus seasons. The model enters the 2023 NBA Play-in Tournament a stunning 71-36 on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $3,000. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Thunder vs. Pelicans and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the NBA lines and trends for Pelicans vs. Thunder:
- Thunder vs. Pelicans: New Orleans -6
- Thunder vs. Pelicans over/under: 226.5 points
- Thunder vs. Pelicans money line: New Orleans -250, Oklahoma City +205
- OKC: The Thunder are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings
- NO: The Pelicans are 5-1 ATS in their last six games following an ATS loss
- Thunder vs. Pelicans picks: See pick at SportsLine
Why the Thunder can cover
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a versatile combo guard. Gilgeous-Alexander has terrific length that gives him an advantage when he's facilitating and driving to the rack. The 2023 All-Star selection ranked fourth in the NBA in scoring (31.4) with 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. On April 4 against the Golden State Warriors, he logged 32 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Guard Josh Giddey is a heady and alert playmaker in the backcourt. Giddey quickly scans the floor and is able to make the right read consistently. The 2021 sixth-overall pick can also finish with either hand at the rim. He averaged 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. In the season finale against the Utah Jazz, he logged 17 points, eight boards and eight assists.
Why the Pelicans can cover
New Orleans has experience playing in this game, as it beat the Spurs and Clippers in the play-in tournament last year. The Pelicans have been without star Zion Williamson since early January due to a hamstring injury, but they are in their best form of the season. They won nine of their final 12 games during the regular season, led by Brandon Ingram's 24.7 points per game.
Veteran guard CJ McCollum is adding 20.9 points per game for New Orleans, which won three out of four meetings against Oklahoma City this season. The Thunder struggled down the stretch, losing six of their final 10 games. They only covered the spread twice during that span, while New Orleans is 8-3-1 against the spread in its last 12 games.
How to make Thunder vs. Pelicans picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 220 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Pelicans vs. Thunder? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
