New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs Prediction: The Pelicans are the favorites

NBA is on and this has been another fantastic season where we have seen a bunch of exciting battles. As we are heading toward the brief Christmas break, the stakes are ever-so-high and the landscape has taken some wild twists. What twists and turns will there be when the New Orleans Pelicans are going to take on the San Antonio Spurs?

The Pelicans come into this game after losing 119:128 against the Bucks despite a humungous 37 points and 18 rebounds outing by veteran Center Jonas Valanciunas. This was the fourth straight loss for the Pels which have now lost 12 but have an impressive 18 wins. These losses have come after the team built an impressive seven-game winning streak and during these losses, their defense has lost its steam, giving up around 120 a game regularly. Three of those losses were away from home, which is understandable.

Zion Williamson has been the leader which is the least surprising thing, he has consistently breached the 25 points mark while he has added sharp passing to his arsenal too. The team has been without Brandon Ingram since late November but Zion’s stellar play has kept the team lit up. CJ McCollum has been inconsistent but his play has been better since mid-November. Overall, the Pels need support around Zion and has sorely missed their dependable Wing player Brandon Ingram during the current period. However, this has been an impressive start by the Pels’ core.

The Spurs enter the scene after defeating the Rockets 124:105 as Devin Vassell rolled in 26 points. This win was the fourth in six games which have followed an eleven-game losing streak period, suggesting that the team has come up with an answer or two. However, if they are to get in the groove, a lot more answers are needed as the team is placed with 20 losses and just 10 wins. This is a squad that began with five wins and two losses but has since struggled on both ends of the floor. Coach Greg Popovich has continued the theme of ball sharing but a lot of improvements are needed for the squad.

For the Spurs, one positive is the efficiency of two of their major players Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson who are both shooting a high percentage from the three-point range(around 40%). With a lot of lot potential yet to be realized, these two can become the backbone of the offense for a long time. The rest of the team has struggled to score, Josh Richardson is a hit-and-miss whereas Jakob Poeltl has limited offensive capabilities. Jeremy Sochan, the rookie has lost a ton of minutes because of his offensive inconsistencies. The Spurs are most likely heading to the lottery, which was an outcome experts suggested before the season began.

• Pelicans: OUT: Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, EJ Liddell. QUESTIONABLE: Larry Nance Jr.;
• Spurs: DOUBTFUL: Keldon Johnson. PROBABLE: Romeo Langford, Jakob Poeltl.

The Pels will be without their Superstar athlete Zion Williamson but the balance can be recovered for the Pels if Keldon Johnson ends up missing the game which appears as the likely scenario. In the middle, Val may hold an advantage against Poelltl whereas the duel between CJ and Devin can be the real difference-maker. The Pels have much a deeper unit but these days, the bench has been underperforming a bit after they had a hot start. I believe the Pels’ bench will show up here and that’s why I predict a 124:113 win in favor of the Pelicans.