Hornets @ Pelicans tips and picks: Raining threes as New Orleans annihilates woeful Charlotte
- George Dempsey
- 17 January 2024
The New Orleans Pelicans (24-17) play host to the struggling Charlotte Hornets (8-29) in the NBA on Wednesday night (0100 GMT Thurs).
The line has opened at -12 in favour of the hosts New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday as they prepare to host the Charlotte Hornets.
It’s a big number, but it’s one that the Pelicans have a very good chance of covering if they produce a focused performance.
The injury-ravaged Hornets are still without Gordon Hayward and are 1-9 across their last 10 contests and 0-5ATS in their last five. They’re being outscored by 12.7 points per game on their travels overall.
They’ve also been outscored by a total of 98 points across those last five, losing by an average of 19.6 despite being a +7 dog.
Arguably, the Pelicans have been playing better Basketball than all of the teams Charlotte was thrashed by.
Charlotte did recently welcome LaMelo Ball back to the lineup but it’s made minimal difference. They’ve failed to score 100 points in four of five.
That’s a trend that could continue against this Pelicans defence. They’ve held six of 10 opponents to 108 or fewer, including the Timberwolves, Kings and Warriors.
Their net rating of +11.8 during their 10-game run is the highest in the league during that period and they’ve shot 51% from the floor.
While the Hornets look like they couldn't organise a knees-up in a brewery, the Pelicans' last home performance typifies what this group is all about.
Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, Jordan Hawkins and Jose Alvardo all scored double-digits, but none of them scored more than 16. This is a cohesive unit with good contributions from across the board.
In losing 16 of their previous 17, Charlotte has a net rating of -16.8.
One particular area of concern has to be three-point shooting. The Hornets have the worst 3-point defence in the NBA, and they’ve made just 27% in their last two outings.
Not only do the Pelicans have the physical prowess and hustle to deal with them around the paint, but they’ve also limited teams to 34.1% from downtown, making them the third-best in the league.
These teams are trending in such opposite directions, as long as the Pelicans turn up and take the game seriously, there are so many ways in which this could result in a blowout.
