Pelicans vs Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs (19-52) look for their second consecutive win as they kick off a four-game road trip against the New Orleans Pelicans (34-37) tonight.

NBA odds, picks, and predictions for the San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans on March 21. NBA betting best bet and free pick analysis.

However, I should note their bench sits near the top of the league in minutes and points per game (19.9 minutes/42.1 ppg). These Western Conference foes haven’t faced off since before the New Year, with a trio of games in November and December. The Spurs are dead last in defensive rating and give up a league-high 124.3 points per game as a visitor. San Antonio doesn’t pack much of a punch in points at full strength and very much struggles on the road, so that slight downtick in the total may not seem like enough. The Over/Under number has also seen major adjustments with San Antonio sitting a good chunk of its top talent. The Spurs rank 29th in offensive rating on the season and score less than 111 points per road game — leading to a dismal 11-22 ATS mark as visitors. The Spurs have been playing competitive basketball in recent outings, however, and could be on a four-game winning streak (3-1 ATS) if not for overtime losses to Memphis and Dallas last week. NOLA is a much better team inside the Smoothie King Center, with a 22-13 SU record as hosts (16-19 ATS) and a net rating of +4.5 — compared to -3.1 on the road. New Orleans is desperate for a win after dropping outside of the play-in tournament with a rotten run of games since the All-Star break. Branham’s rebounding total seems too low considering he’ll log major minutes and not have to battle for boards with some of the Spurs’ top glass cleaners. While the Spurs seem to be in pure tank mode, the Pels are still pushing for the postseason. Branham has been much more active on the glass the past two months, averaging 4.2 rebounds per game since the start of February.

The Spurs visit the Pelicans on Tuesday night as we continue our NBA odds series with a Spurs-Pelicans prediction, pick, and how to watch.

New Orleans ranks in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rebound rates but will need to keep San Antonio off the offensive glass. He’s been remarkably consistent and is averaging 20.8 PPG and 6.2 APG since the All-Star break. New Orleans is a solid but not spectacular team that ranks 16th in scoring and 15th in points allowed. That being said, the Spurs may be a frisky upset team the rest of the way as they have a number of good young players. Additionally, the Spurs rank in the top 10 in offensive rebound rate which generates a ton of extra possessions. The Pelicans covered 46% of their games while 51% went under. While his scoring can fluctuate from game to game, he notably dropped 17 points on 50% shooting in their loss to Dallas last week. The Spurs covered 42% of their games while 58% went over the projected point total. The Pelicans are merely an average defensive team and with an opportunity to serve as the No. [San Antonio Spurs](/nba/san-antonio-spurs) (19-52) visit the [New Orleans Pelicans](/nba/new-orleans-pelicans) (34-37) on Tuesday night! First and foremost, look for rookie Malaki Branham to see an uptick in usage. New Orleans has lost two of their last three games and sits in 12th place in the West.

New Orleans needs to finish the season strongly to squeeze into the playoff picture.

7-4 or better would be much more optimal, given that would lead to the Pelicans finishing with at least a .500 record — all four teams sitting in the play-in picture are currently .500 or worse. New Orleans can no longer afford to drop any more winnable contests, especially with the Lakers and [Utah Jazz](https://www.slcdunk.com), two teams above them in the standings, owning important tiebreakers against them. Graham is averaging 15.5 points, 4.6 assists and 3.2 made 3-pointers in 13 games with the Spurs. [New Orleans Pelicans](https://www.thebirdwrites.com) have 11 games left on the schedule. As noted in Tom Osborne’s tweet, Devonte’ Graham is questionable to play. [Pelicans](https://www.thebirdwrites.com/?_ga=2.129436431.2062660796.1613539844-1404429409.1563986214) talk, subscribe to The Bird Calls podcast feed on [iTunes](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bird-calls/id1254580823), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/1hcE37VQq6gvXI5N0wQQNm), [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/preston-ellis/the-bird-writes-nba-podcast-for-new-orleans-pelicans) or [@OlehKosel](https://twitter.com/OlehKosel). They play hard and they can beat anyone on any night. In my opinion, the Pelicans are going to have to go at least 6-5 to have any realistic shot of making the play-in tournament. We’ll definitely have to bring our hard hats and execute.” [Los Angeles Lakers](https://www.silverscreenandroll.com) and [Houston Rockets](https://www.thedreamshake.com) over the last seven days, the onus squarely rests on the Pelicans to beat the [San Antonio Spurs](https://www.poundingtherock.com) tonight and then the [Charlotte Hornets](https://www.atthehive.com) on Thursday. The Spurs are a good team. “We’re not singling out any team.