Spurs vs. Pelicans NBA Pick – Wednesday, April 13, 2022

The San Antonio Spurs will take on the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament. The winner of the matchup will face the loser of Tuesday night’s matchup between the LA Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

New Orleans and San Antonio took advantage of a weak Western Conference to make the play-in tournament. They finished a combined 24 games under .500. That’s not playoff-worthy, but they’re here to compete.

Which team will advance to battle for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference? Let’s check out the odds.

The New Orleans Pelicans open as a (-5.0) point favorite, but the betting trends show that we shouldn’t underestimate the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio closed the season by covering in 10 of their last 11 games. The last time they failed to cover as the underdog was March 14 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That same closing stretch saw the Spurs go under their point total seven times.

Obviously, the Pelicans won’t have Zion Williamson, but they’re otherwise healthy for Wednesday’s matchup. Lonnie Walker is the only true question mark for the Spurs. He has dealt with a back injury but will likely try and play through it.

Bovada gives us the odds for this matchup. Please visit the site to place your bets, and read a site review.

The San Antonio Spurs may have closed the season on a three-game losing streak, but that came after they clinched a spot in the play-in tournament. The Los Angeles Lakers’ collapse helped the Spurs, but they helped themselves by winning seven of eight games in March.

San Antonio hasn’t looked like a playoff team, but they’ll play in the play-in tournament for the second straight season. Can they defeat the New Orleans Pelicans?

Dejounte Murray has been the star player for the Spurs this season. He made his first all-star appearance but has looked even better since the all-star break. However, it isn’t just him. Check out his and Keldon Johnson’s post-all-star game numbers.

Those players will have their work cut out for them against the Pelicans’ star players.

CJ McCollum has received much attention since joining the Pelicans, but Brandon Ingram averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 6.4 rebounds since the all-star break.

The first matchup between the Spurs and Pelicans was December 12, so we’ll focus on their last three matchups. Check out the final score of each game.

The road team has won the last three matchups. Ingram only played in the February 12 game, so his return will be critical for the Pelicans. How will the Spurs’ defense slow him down?

It’ll also be interesting to see how Murray performs against the Spurs. He had a big performance on February 12 but didn’t score 20 points in the last two matchups. San Antonio needs him to excel if they want to advance.

My same game parlay for the San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans will give you (+814) odds. It’s playoff time, and it’s time for bettors to step up their game. Will this parlay pay off?

CJ McCollum has been great with the Pelicans, but his scoring numbers have dropped lately. He barely played in the final regular-season game, so we won’t count that.

McCollum has scored less than 26.5 points in six of his last seven games. Brandon Ingram has taken on a bigger scoring workload lately. McCollum has had success against the Spurs, but he only scored 20 points in their March 18 matchup. I’m expecting another game under 26 points.

Jones has hovered around this projection in his four matchups with the Spurs. He cleared this projection twice, but one of those games was four rebounds. I expect him to continue his trend of games under 3.5 rebounds.

Keldon Johnson has taken big strides since the all-star break. His scoring is way up, but he’s also averaging more assists. Johnson has cleared 2.5 assists in 10 of his last 13 games. He might not be a guard, but he has no problem racking up assists.

Johnson has only cleared that mark once against the Pelicans, but those came before his recent surge. I love the value of this prop bet. I have no problem including it in my parlay.

Initially, I was backing the New Orleans Pelicans to win this game. However, I’m starting to lean towards the San Antonio Spurs. They had a strong close to the regular season and should be able to keep this game close.

Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson might not receive as much attention as the Pelicans’ star players, but they can lead the Spurs to a victory. I’m not saying that’ll happen, but it should be a close game.

Fans can tune into this matchup Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Check out the NBA play-in tournament guide for predictions and picks for all four matchups.

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