The final game of the first round in the NBA Play-In Tournament will take place between the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. The Pelicans are a favorite at home in this matchup, but the Spurs have won three of four against New Orleans this season. In our NBA betting picks for the Play-In Tournament, we examine Spurs vs Pelicans in an elimination game in the Western Conference.
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Spurs vs Pelicans Betting Pick
This game will be played at Smoothie King Center at 9:30 PM ET on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Why Bet The Spurs:
✅ While the Pelicans are at home and favored in this game, the Spurs won three of their four meetings with the Pelicans this season. Some of those wins came after the Pelicans acquired CJ McCollum and started to dig out of the hole they had dug for themselves early in the season. The Spurs might not win here, but they should be able to keep things close.
✅ Coaching is going to be a huge advantage for the Spurs in this game, as they have the playoff experience of Gregg Popovich to rely on in this contest. Popovich has coached the Spurs to several NBA championships, while Pelicans head man Willie Green lacks that kind of success in big spots. Expect that to make a difference in this single-elimination scenario.
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✅ This season, the New Orleans Pelicans have a losing record on their home floor. While this version of the Pelicans is better than the one that started the season, the fact remains that home court advantage is slightly overvalued for the Pelicans based on their results this season. San Antonio should be able to keep this game within a couple of possessions as a result.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs managed to hold off the Los Angeles Lakers for the 10th and final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. They are tasked with winning two straight road games to go from the Play-In Tournament to the first round of the playoffs. But they have a fighting chance of getting through the Pelicans and into the final round of the Play-In Tournament thanks to their offense and coaching.
San Antonio has the fifth-best scoring average in the Western Conference this season, and has shown the ability to score against the Pelicans earlier this season. The Spurs have beaten the Pelicans three times in four tries this season, scoring at least 110 in two of those victories. They will likely need a similar offensive performance to win this play-in battle.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans come into this contest with hopes of making it through the Play-In Tournament and into the first round of the playoffs to face the Phoenix Suns. New Orleans was rewarded for its aggression at the trade deadline, as the decision to bring in CJ McCollum paid off with a rise up the standings and a play-in berth. Now, the Pelicans hope that McCollum and Brandon Ingram can lead them to the next stage of the play-in round.
In order to do that, the mid-range shot is going to be crucial to the success of the Pelicans. Ingram and McCollum have both been favoring the mid-range jump shot offensively, which can be a risky strategy given the inefficiency of that shot statistically speaking. They will need to hit at a high percentage from the mid-range to avoid being upset at home and sent home by the Spurs.
