Pelicans vs. Thunder NBA Playoffs First Round Lines

New Orleans Pelicans 2024 NBA Playoffs Betting

New Orleans Pelicans 2024 NBA Championship Odds

The New Orleans Pelicans recovered after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Sacramento Kings and advance out of the play-in round. New Orleans beat the Kings 105-98 as 1.5-point home favorites and went under the total of 212.5. Next for the Pelicans is a difficult assignment against the #1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder. Ironically, Zion Williamson, who has been praised for staying in the lineup this year, was out with a left hamstring strain. But New Orleans found an extra gear to prevail.

2024 NBA Championship Betting Odds

New Orleans Pelicans NBA Betting Lines

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.

Brandon Ingram recorded 24 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and the New Orleans Pelicans clinched the Western Conference's final playoff berth with a solid 105-98 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings.

Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Trey Murphy III added 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists as New Orleans cruised despite the absence of Zion Williamson.

New Orleans will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The best of seven series opens on Sunday, April 21, 2024.

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
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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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