The New Orleans Pelicans (37-25) feature in the second of a three-game road trip on Friday night as they head to Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia 76ers (35-27).
NBA fans can catch the action from 7:00 p.m. ET as the road team searches for a third straight victory. The Sixers have struggled now for some time without marquee man Joel Embiid, and they will also have fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey out for tonight.
With the injury issues to the 76ers, it will come as little surprise that Bet Rivers has the Pelicans listed as 8-point favorites for tonight’s interconference encounter. The game total is also set at O/U 222 (-108). We’ve got our best bet for the matchup available below!
Last Time Out
The Pelicans enter this matchup on the back of successive wins over the Indiana Pacers (129-102) and the Toronto Raptors (139-98). The two convincing victories puts them in a good place ahead of their visit to Philly, and forward Trey Murphy III is in excellent shape, putting up at least 26 points in three of his last four outings, including a game-high 34 against the Raptors on Tuesday.
Having won three of their last four games, the Pelicans will feel confident about sealing their spot in the postseason right now. The hope is that that will come via the playoffs instead of the play-in tournament. New Orleans currently occupies fifth-place in the Western Conference standings, but there are a surfeit of teams still vying for a spot in the top six.
After going 3-5 since the All-Star Break, the Sixers are struggling to maintain their place in the playoff places in the Eastern Conference, and have now slipped to seventh. Their last two games have resulted in poor defeats against the 25-38 Brooklyn Nets (112-107) and the injury-plagued, 22-41 Memphis Grizzlies (115-109)
It’s the offense that has primarily struggled since the break, as the 76ers are averaging just 105.9 points per game (ppg) since the return. Maxey had been on fire prior to his issue with concussion, putting up at least 24 points in six successive games following the break. However, Philly has failed to score 110 points in the two games without him against the Nets and the Grizzlies.
Injuries & Team News
New Orleans are not expecting to have any fresh concerns for the game here and will remain unchanged from their dominant win in Toronto. Guard Dyson Daniels (knee) will remain out, though, whilst E.J. Liddell, Malcolm Hill and Dereon Seabron are all on assignment.
The main concern for the Sixers is that Embiid will remain sidelined as he continues his recovery following knee surgery. The current MVP hasn’t played since a 119-107 road loss to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January. Philly has gone 6-10 without him on the roster.
Maxey is still out as he is yet to pass concussion protocols, whilst Robert Covington (knee) and De’Anthony Melton (back) remain sidelined as well. The Sixers have been hindered with a depleted roster.
Head-to-Head
It’s the visitors who currently lead the season series 1-0 after winning 124-114 on their own court in their last meeting back in November. Forward Zion Williamson led the victory, scoring a team-high 33 points.
Nevertheless, the Pelicans have not enjoyed any of their recent visits to Pennsylvania, losing in their last six successive trips to Wells Fargo Center. They’ll be hopeful of snapping that streak tonight.
Betting Trends & Stats
The 76ers and the Pelicans matchup incredibly similarly on offense, ranking 13th and 14th respectively in terms of ppg. Philly averages just 0.2 ppg more than New Orleans on the season. However, it’s the road team who enter this one with better offensive momentum, putting up 117.9 ppg since the break, compared to the Sixers’ 105.9 ppg.
Overall, it’s the Pelicans who have been superior defensively, giving up the eight-least ppg in the NBA (111.5). The 76ers have allowed the 17th-most ppg (113.8), and have given up marginally more points on average over their last five too (114.8). Meanwhile, the Pelicans are allowing just 105.8 ppg over their past five games.
New Orleans boasts the third-best against the spread (ATS) record across the entire NBA (34-27-1). They are covering in a similar amount of road games as well (56.7%), but haven’t covered the spread as convincingly as road favorites, going 7-8-0. They are 19-18-0 ATS as overall favorites with a 9.0 point differential (sixth-best in the league). The Pelicans have covered the spread in three of their last four games.
As for the hosts, they have a pretty similar overall ATS record of 33-29-0. Their home record ATS is slightly worse at 17-16-0 (51.5%). However, they have struggled to keep things close as home underdogs, going 2-5-0 ATS with a point differential of -9.4. Philly has gone just 3-7 ATS over their last 10.
Key Players
Leading New Orleans points scorer Williamson has not played over 26 minutes in either of the last two wins, and he has failed to put up more than 16 points as a result. However, when his time on the court is maximized, he is incredibly effective.
Fellow forward Brandon Ingram will be looking to continue in his good form as he is averaging 24.4 ppg over his last five. Equally, we can’t forget about Murphy who recorded 28 and 34 points against the Pacers and the Raptors respectively.
Without Embiid and Maxey, the Sixers will be relying on forward Tobias Harris to put up points. He averages 17.5 ppg on the season, but only scored 8 against the Grizzlies on Wednesday. Kelly Oubre Jr. is in excellent form, however, averaging 25.3 ppg over his last three.
Best Bet
The 76ers have been struggling enough without Embiid in the lineup, and things have only gotten worse without Maxey as well. They have lost against much weaker opposition in the Nets and the Grizzlies of late, and their offense is laboring.
The Pelicans have all the confidence following their last two wins, and they won’t be letting up in Philly tonight as they bid to strengthen their playoff hopes. An 8-point spread for a road team is rather sizable, but New Orleans have easily covered recently.
New Orleans Pelicans -8 (-113 with Bet Rivers)