New Orleans at Golden State

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.