The New Orleans Pelicans made it through the Western Conference portion of the Play-In Tournament, beating the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers to get to the first round of the playoffs. They will face the top seeded Phoenix Suns, who ended the regular season with the best record in the league by a comfortable margin. In our NBA betting picks for Sunday night, we take a look at Pelicans vs Suns, as the Pelicans look to steal Game 1 by upsetting the Suns.
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Pelicans vs Suns Game 1 Betting Pick
This game will be played at Footprint Center at 9:00 PM ET on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
Why Bet The Pelicans:
✅ Rust could be a concern in this game for the Phoenix Suns, as they rested some of their players in the last few games of the regular season. They also had an extended period of time off during the Play-In Tournament, while the Pelicans were playing their way into the Western Conference playoffs. Expect a slow start for the Suns to help the Pelicans stay within single digits here.
✅ The duo of Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum will keep the Pelicans from falling too far behind in this game despite the overall quality of the Suns. They combined for 59 points against the San Antonio Spurs and 49 points against the Los Angeles Clippers for an average of 54 points per game during the Play-In Tournament. They will be effective again to keep the Pelicans in this contest.
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✅ Jonas Valanciunas has the ability to help the Pelicans in a big way in this game, as he has the physicality to compete with Deandre Ayton and the perimeter shooting to move Ayton out of the paint to help the Pelicans offensively. If he can knock down shots and open up driving lanes for others, the Pelicans could win this game outright.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans faced two difficult games in the Play-In Tournament, passing both tests to make the first round of the playoffs. They led almost wire to wire against the San Antonio Spurs, but faced a much more difficult road to beating the Los Angeles Clippers. After building a massive first half lead, they had to overcome a double-digit second half deficit to punch their ticket to the first round.
Against the Phoenix Suns in Game 1, they will need All-Star level performances from CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram to have a chance to win on the road. The Pelicans lack the depth that the Suns have, making the performances of the New Orleans stars all the more important. If they can exceed 50 points between the two of them, the Pelicans might just have a chance to steal this series opening contest.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns had the best record in the NBA this season, as they were the only team in the league to win over 60 games. They dealt with absences from Devin Booker and Chris Paul this season, but overcame them with their depth and ability to score from everywhere on the floor. In this game, they will look to use their depth advantage to make a statement against the Pelicans.
While the key players for the Suns are most often Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton, players like Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are going to be massive in this first game. The Pelicans’ starters have the potential to compete with the starters of the Suns, but the bench unit of the Suns should allow them to create some distance in Game 1 and the rest of the series.