New Orleans is flying high after sweeping Portland, but the young Pelicans step up in competition against the defending champs. New Orleans heads out on the road for Game 1 and is not a great defensive team, ranking #29 in the NBA in points allowed during the regular season -- only Phoenix was worse. The Pelicans are 4-13 ATS when playing on three or more days rest. By contrast, Golden State was third in field goal shooting defense, plus #10 at defending the three-pointer. And the Warriors offense was tops in scoring (113.5 points per game), three-point shooting (.391) and field goal shooting (.502) -- the only NBA team to top 50% in shooting. The Warriors won the regular season series against the Pelicans for the sixth-straight season, winning three of the four meetings, including two games in this arena by 10 and 15 points. Golden State rallied from double-digit deficits (15, 14 and 21) in each of their three wins over the Pelicans. And Golden State is 20-7 ATS at home against a team with a road winning percentage of greater than .600. Play Golden State.
This pick was released to clients on April 28, 2024 at 12:01PM ET.
NBA
New Orleans at Golden State
April 28, 2018
10:30 PM Eastern
2 units on Golden State -9 (-109) (risk 2 to return 3.83)
Result:
WIN
WIN
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