The New Orleans Pelicans have some big dreams after trading for star forward DeMarcus Cousins, but it hasn’t borne fruit quite yet. The Pelicans have yet to win with Cousins in the fold and he was suspended for a game against the Pistons for his 18th technical foul of the season.
Cousins will be back against the San Antonio Spurs in a game that holds a lot of intrigue as a national audience gets a look at the new-look Pelicans against the steady Spurs.
The Pelicans are at home and the crowd should be excited, but the Spurs are such a good team that they are likely to be favored in this showdown.
At 9:30 p.m. ET, tune into TNT for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Friday, March 3, 2017 at Smoothie King Arena.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Pelicans are 23-37 straight up and 27-32-1 against the spread. They have played in 30 home games on the season and have covered in 14 of them. New Orleans is 20-21-1 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
The Spurs are 45-13 straight up and 33-24-1 against the spread. San Antonio has played in 33 road games on the season and have gone 19-13-1 against the spread attempting to cover. The Spurs are 29-23-1 against the spread as the favorite on the season.
Key Stat
3.5. That’s the number of games out of the playoffs the Pelicans sit, and would need to jump five teams to get there. They made the big trade for Cousins, and his presence alongside Anthony Davis gives the team to elite pieces.
However, New Orleans is trying to jell on the fly and doesn’t have a bunch of talent around them. It could be a tall order to make the postseason, and New Orleans will need to go on a big-time run down the stretch for it to happen.
This is a really tough matchup but a win over the Spurs would be a great way to kickstart a rally over the second half of the year.
Player to Watch
Pau Gasol -- While the Pelicans’ frontcourt is going to get most of the publicity, San Antonio’s veteran center returned to the court last week against the Clippers after missing 15 games with a fractured finger. The longtime starter came off the bench for the Spurs in his first game back from injury and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
Gasol remained in a reserve position against the Lakers on Sunday and recorded 15 points and seven rebounds. Dewayne Dedmon has moved into the starting position in Gasol’s place.
Gasol is averaging 11.9 points per game in leads the team in rebounds per game with eight. He has been an integral part of the Spurs’ success and the Pelicans must do a good job keeping him in check as one of the various weapons San Antonio can employ.
Gasol doesn’t have nearly the athleticism of Cousins or Davis but he is a skilled veteran who could be a matchup problem.
Free NBA ATS Pick
There’s no doubt the Pelicans made a nice trade to add Cousins to the fold, as they have now paired two of the game’s elite big men together. However, it takes time to figure out spacing and ball movement, which isn’t easy to pull off in the middle of the season.
New Orleans is a team to watch out for next year, but the Spurs are much more well-oiled right now. Even though it must hit the road, take San Antonio to take care of business because it is better on both sides of the floor.
NBA Odds: Spurs 108, Pelicans 100
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
