Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans Betting Odds
Carrie Stroup here with your Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans betting odds courtesy of Sportsbook.ag.
Western Conference - First Round – Game 3
Sportsbook.ag Line: Golden State -5.0, Total: 204.5
The Warriors look to take a 3-0 series lead when they head to New Orleans and face the Pelicans in Game 3 Thursday.
The Warriors defeated the Pelicans 97-87 as 13.5-point favorites in Game 2, shooting 44.2% from the field compared to a miserable 37.8% shooting for New Orleans. The Warriors also outrebounded the Pelicans 59-53 in that game.
New Orleans has not had much success against Golden State over the years and the Warriors have now won 12 of their past 13 games against the Pelicans SU. Golden State has covered in eight of those games and is also 5-1 SU and 4-1-1 ATS when playing at the Smoothie King Center in that time. Eight of the 12 games played between these teams over the past three seasons have gone Under the total.
The Warriors are a dominant 10-2 ATS when playing with two days of rest this season. They are also 20-9 ATS when playing as a favorite of 3.5 to 9.5 points on the year. The Pelicans, however, are 19-6 ATS off a road loss this season and 27-13 ATS as an underdog. PF David Lee (Back) is doubtful for Golden State and PG Jrue Holiday (Leg) is questionable for the Pelicans after missing Game 2 due to soreness.
The Warriors are up 2-0 on the Pelicans and this team has still not played as well as it is capable of offensively. PG Stephen Curry (23.8 PPG, 7.7 APG, 4.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG) is averaging 28.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.0 RPG and 2.0 SPG in the series. He is just 7-for-22 from behind the arc and was much better than that during the regular season (44% 3PT). He’ll need to start knocking down some shots moving forward.
SG Klay Thompson (21.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.1 SPG) caught fire last game, finishing with 26 points on 11-for-17 shooting. Thompson has played well on both ends of the floor in this series and must continue to do so as Eric Gordon is one of the more threatening offensive players on the Pelicans and Golden State needs Thompson to keep him in line defensively.
PF Draymond Green (11.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.6 SPG, 1.3 PG) continues to play well for the Warriors and has been doing everything his team has asked of him this series. In two games, he’s now averaging 14.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, 3.0 SPG and 1.5 BPG. He must continue to make life on Anthony Davis difficult in Game 3 and beyond.
C Andrew Bogut (6.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 BPG) will also need to continue to play well on the defensive end. He had 14 boards, three blocks and a steal in Game 2 and just needs to stay healthy in order to help this team advance.
The Pelicans desperately need a victory in Game 3 or their season is pretty much over as they’d face a 3-0 deficit with two games still needing to be played at Oracle Arena. If the Pelicans are going to earn a victory on Thursday then PF Anthony Davis (24.4 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 1.5 SPG) will need to play out of his mind. Davis has been excellent in this series, averaging 30.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 3.0 BPG in 42.5 MPG so far. He is averaging 4.0 turnovers per game and must limit that number moving forward.
SG Eric Gordon (13.4 PPG, 3.8 APG) provided a major spark offensively in Game 2, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-19 shooting from the field and 5-for-10 shooting from the outside. He is an excellent shooter (45% 3PT) and if he can make shots, the Warriors won’t be able to pay as much attention to Anthony Davis. Gordon will, however, need to step it up defensively on Klay Thompson.
One last player who must really improve in all aspects of the game in this series is SF Tyreke Evans (16.6 PPG, 6.6 APG, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG). Evans had 16 points, 10 boards and seven assists in Game 2 and while those numbers make it seem like he played well, he was just 4-for-13 from the field and 7-for-12 from the charity stripe. He needs to be more efficient offensively and also do better stopping Curry on the defensive end.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
