Even though the Spurs found themselves on the road for a bulk of February, they need to once again hit the road after a brief stop at home for Thursday night’s TNT tilt against the division rival Pelicans whom they already fell to by 14 points in their first trip to the bayou this season.
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SCHEDULING
Though the Spurs got a physical match up the night before at home versus Detroit, that game will be the first played in three full days with Gregg Popovich’s club getting some much needed time off after a lengthy road trip.
San Antonio has won each of its last four games played on no rest, but managed to cover the closing number only once with an average combined score of 202 points.
This will be the back end of a back-to-back for the Pelicans who will be running and gunning in Houston the night prior. New Orleans has dropped each of its last two games played on no rest and lost both games to the Lakers and Thunder.
KEY MATCHUP
LaMarcus Aldridge has been incredibly tough for the Pelicans’ porous defense to contend with the two times he ran up against it this season.
Though San Antonio fell 104-90 as seven-point road chalk in the first meeting, he logged 20 points and 11 rebounds to give Pelicans stud Anthony Davis a run for his money for the game’s top honors. It was a prime look ahead spot however with the Grizzlies on deck.
In the most recent meeting at the beginning of February, he exploded for a game high 36 points in nearly 34 minutes of action. The effort broke Tony Parker’s record of most points scored by a Spurs player in a single game.
Note as well that Davis has also done fantastic versus San Antonio’s top ranked efficiency defense in combining for 48 points, 28 rebounds and 6 blocks over the course of two games.
The player that went for the most points in both matchups also went on to lead their team to the straight up win and cover. This battle will go a long way in deciding the outcome of this one, so make it a point to gauge which stud is having himself a game and look to back that side on the readjusted live betting pointspread.
LIVE BETTING SCENARIO
This game is seriously only worthy of wagering upon if Anthony Davis is a go. If not, it’s nothing more than a crap shoot if entertaining the thought of backing the home dogged Pelicans. Be sure to check the status of his toe injury before jumping in.
We’ll attack it with the Brow getting greenlighted, and if that turns out to be the case, I’m expecting this game to follow suit of the two prior. Each were nip and tuck affairs through three quarters, but the victor ultimately took control in the final stanza outscoring the opposition by nine and 10 points respectively.
The team that also came out on top of both games shot much better than the losing side. While that normally goes hand in hand with winning and losing any game, it was a strong indicator in the first two meetings of weeding out the winning team.
Should San Antonio look to have its stroke, I’d recommend backing Tim Duncan and company since the Pels defense just isn’t any good. If not, N’awlens will have a much better shot of making a game of it if not taking it outright.
The Spurs have lost and failed to cover each of their last three visits to the bayou, and with them playing this one unrested with the vets likely going full bore the night before versus a game Pistons side, New Orleans certainly has it in them to build off their recent decent play and make it four straight.
Load your NBA betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker Sportsbook live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans is scheduled for Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 8 p.m. ET at Smoothie King Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
