Nuggets vs Pelicans Predictions and Odds Feb 4
Nuggets vs Pelicans Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Nuggets vs Pelicans prediction and betting preview for Friday, February 4. At the time of posting, the Nuggets are 6-point road favorites over the home Pelicans, with the total sitting at 223 points.
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| Friday, February 4 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Denver Nuggets -6 vs New Orleans Pelicans |
| Total: | 223 Points |
| Game Time: | 9:10pm ET / 6:10pm PT |
| Arena: | Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA |
| TV: | Bally Sports New Orleans |
Nuggets vs Pelicans Analysis
The New Orleans Pelicans will travel to Ball Arena in Denver for a Western Conference clash with the Nuggets on Friday night. The Nuggets fell to Utah Jazz 108-104 on Wednesday night as they played without their leader Nikola Jokic.
The Pelicans snapped a four game losing streak with a 111-101 road victory on Tuesday night. Denver has prevailed in both head-to-head matchups on the road, 116-105 and 120-114 in overtime back on December 8th.
Pelicans Struggle to Score
The New Orleans Pelicans are 26th in the league in scoring with an average of only 105.4 points a game. The major reason for this is poor shooting as they rank 26th in both field goal percentage at 43.8% and three point shooting at 32.8%.
The Pels have scored only 105 points or less in six of their last nine games. However, they did manage to put up 111 in their last game against the Detroit Pistons. Brandon Ingram led the Pels with 26 points despite being ejected after picking up a 2nd technical foul for taunting former teammate Fred Jackson.
Jonas Valanciunas added a 13 point, 13 rebound double double. New Orleans is 19-32 overall while dropping 19 of 27 road games and trailing the Portland Trailblazers by 1.5 games for 10th place in the Western Conference.
Josh Hart is questionable for Friday night’s contest with a knee injury while his backup Garrett Temple remains out. The Pels defense is slightly better than their offense as they allow 109.5 points per game, ranking 19th in the NBA.
Nuggets Look to Snap Mini Slump
The Denver Nuggets record dropped to 28-23 after losing their 2nd consecutive game Wednesday night in Utah. Nikola Jokic missed the game with a nagging toe injury while Aaron Gordon was also rested. It left the door open for Bryn Forbes to lead the team in scoring with 26 points of the bench.
It appears that DeMarcus Cousins will miss Friday nights tilt as he is only player mentioned on the injury report. The reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic has a chance to repeat and win the award once again. The “Joker” comes into this game averaging 25.9 points, 13.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game.
He also leads the league in plus minus at +9.5, which is +1.9 more than the next player Steph Curry. Denver ranks 11th in the league in scoring defense with 107.4 points allowed and 15th in scoring offense with 109.1 points per game.
Nuggets vs Pelicans Prediction
The Denver Nuggets come into this contest as 6 point favorites with a total of 224. These teams have finished under the total in six of their last seven matchups. The Pelicans don’t travel well and have lost 4 of their last five games.
Denver has covered this spread twice against the Pels at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. While there is some apprehension due to the Jokic toe injury, it seems like he will return along with Aaron Gordon.
Jokic has dominated this team twice and the Nuggs need the victory for seeding purposes. The Nuggets laying six will be the play here.
Prediction: Denver Nuggets -6
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Nuggets vs Pelicans Preview from GoldSheet
Rumors swirling that New Orleans is making some phone calls in an attempt to rearrange the deck chairs on their Titanic of a roster before the deadline.
Pelicans reportedly floating G Josh Hart & Garrett Temple (maybe Zion Williamson?), a few expiring contracts and/or draft choices for some potential help at the 2&3 with a swingman.
With PF Brandon Ingram, PF Williamson, PG Devonte’ Graham and C Jonas Valanciunas under stable contracts for 2 more seasons (Ingram & Graham for three years), they need a swingman to complete the lineup.
The Nuggets are returning home after a 6-game road trip during which they won the first four but lost at Minnesota and Utah in back-to-back nights Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home. Denver has taken the last four against New Orleans, including two games this season, both of which were played in New Orleans.
That sounds good, but it’s the Pelicans who have covered their last five visits to Ball Arena in Denver, winning three of the last four straight-up. This series is “under” 8-2 the last 10 and 5 straight at Ball.
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Friday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Nuggets vs Pelicans contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
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