New Orleans Pelicans NBA Play-In Tournament Betting
What a difference a player makes. For the first time in his controversial career, Zion Williamson has been able to answer the bell for most of the season. Williamson, the top pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, has bordered on being one of the biggest draft busts in Association history. But Williamson has been the key asset in making the New Orleans Pelicans a potential contender in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. With Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Jonas Valanciunas helping Williamson, bargain hunters see a dark horse. New Orleans made gamblers happy with reliable value this year.
2024 NBA Championship Betting Odds
New Orleans Pelicans NBA Betting Lines
Los Angeles Lakers +1
New Orleans Pelicans -1
Total: 223.5
Money Line: Los Angeles -102, New Orleans -118
The New Orleans Pelicans are 49-33 straight up, 43-37-2 against the spread, and 36-45-1 over/under the total. Late on, New Orleans has covered three out of their last five games. At the same time, the Pelicans have gone over the total in two of its previous five matchups. New Orleans is 7th in the Western Conference playoff standings. New Orleans is eight games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference playoff race.
New Orleans has NBA metrics of 13th for scoring offense, 9th for field goal percentage, 4th for 3-point field goal percentage, 21st for free throw percentage, and 13th for offensive rebounding. On defense, the Pelicans have NBA metrics of 8th for scoring defense, 7th for field goal percentage permitted, 2nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 8th for defensive rebounding.
New Orleans qualified for the play-in round. The Pelicans will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Tipoff time is 7:30 p.m. ET, with television coverage on TNT.
New Orleans Pelicans Key Players
PF Zion Williamson leads the Pelicans with 22.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. His career average is 24.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Williamson is in the playoffs for the first time in his career. Williamson is a 2-time NBA All-Star. He was the first player taken in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke. Williamson has had an injury-plagued career but made 70 starts this year.
SF Brandon Ingram averages 20.8 points and 5.7 assists per game. Ingram has averaged 20 points or more per game in the past five seasons. He was a 2020 NBA All-Star.
New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach
Head coach Willie Green is a former journeyman NBA player who played in New Orleans from 2010-2011. He has been head coach of the Pels since 2021-22 with a career record of 127-119 in the regular season and 2-4 in the playoffs.
Season-by-Season Record (Last 6)
| SEASON |
GAMES |
WINS |
LOSSES |
FINISH |
PLAYOFFS |
| 2023-24 |
82 |
49 |
33 |
2nd, Southwest |
TBD |
| 2022–23 |
82 |
42 |
40 |
2nd, Southwest |
Did not qualify |
| 2021–22 |
82 |
36 |
46 |
3rd, Southwest |
Lost in First Round, 2–4 (Suns) |
| 2020–21 |
72 |
31 |
41 |
4th, Southwest |
Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 |
72 |
30 |
42 |
5th, Southwest |
Did not qualify |
| 2018–19 |
82 |
33 |
49 |
4th, Southwest |
Did not qualify |
New Orleans Pelicans History
The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the newest teams in the NBA. The league granted former owner George Shinn an expansion franchise, and he transferred over the Charlotte Hornets to play in the Big Easy. They were known as the Hornets from 2002 to 2013, when they changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans.
This team immediately succeeded, making the postseason in its first two seasons. However, Hurricane Katrina left the franchise without a home for two years, leading to the team playing games in Oklahoma City during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. That whet the appetite for basketball in OKC, leading to the Seattle Supersonics moving to become the Oklahoma City Thunder a short time later.
Upon this team’s return to New Orleans, the franchise won its first playoff series. The 2007-08 Hornets went 56-26, beating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Chris Paul, David West, and Peja Stojakovic were the stars of that team, and they took the San Antonio Spurs to seven games before falling.
New Orleans would not win a playoff series for another decade. The Pelicans swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, as Anthony Davis took his game to another level with the help of DeMarcus Cousins and Jrue Holiday.
NBA Teams
Eastern Conference - Atlantic
Eastern Conference - Central
Eastern Conference - Southeast
Western Conference - Northwest
Western Conference - Pacific
Western Conference - Southwest
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