Do the Pels remain without a home win?
The New Orleans Pelicans have had an absolutely miserable start to the new season. Against Memphis, the Pels will be hoping for another win after losing nine league games in a row. Due to the poor results, head coach Willie Green’s team is in last place in the Western Conference and there is no sign of the longed-for fight for the play-off places so far.
However, the franchise from the Big Easy has also been hit hard by injuries, which is why the bad start can be explained by the tight personnel situation. The visitors, for their part, arrive with a recent mixed record of two wins from the past five rounds of matches, although the fixture list also included some tough opponents such as the runners-up from Phoenix.
For the game at the Smoothie King Center between the Pelicans and Grizzlies, the tip includes an away win.
New Orleans Pelicans – Statistics & current form
How weak the Pelicans are on the road at the moment can also be seen regularly in home games. Six games in front of their own backdrop have been played so far and all of them were lost. The last defeat came last night against the Nets from Brooklyn.
The team from the Southwest Division has only won against Minnesota – an opponent who can be counted among the lightweights in the Western Conference. As mentioned at the beginning, the reason for the misery is the absence of important pillars of the team from Mississippi.
Zion is missing at every corner
The absence of Zion Williamson is particularly painful. The power forward is suffering from a foot injury and will continue to miss a few more weeks due to the injury. The first pick of 2019 was already nominated as an All-Star last season and cannot be adequately replaced by New Orleans.
He showed what a great talent he is last season, averaging 27 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. However, he also missed his debut season for a long time and was not injury-free in the past season, which is why New Orleans has only ever enjoyed the exceptional player in phases.
Ingram is also unable to play
In addition to Williamson, Brandon Ingram also had to miss the last game due to injury. The MIP of 2020 delivered decent values like an average of 25 points per game until his injury. Without the two players mentioned, New Orleans lacks quality and the many defeats are the result.
Against this background, the odds on less than 110 points by the home side from the Bayou State in the duel between the Pelicans and Grizzlies also make sense. In addition, the odds on an away win, including a lead of at least four points, offer sufficient value.
Projected line-up of New Orleans Pelicans:
Temple – Hart – Graham – Alexander-Walker – Valanciunas
Memphis Grizzlies – Statistics & current form
The Memphis Grizzlies are on track so far. Eighth in the West and with a 50 percent winning percentage, head coach Taylor Jenkins’ team is on target. However, there is still room for improvement on the defensive end: only their upcoming opponents have a weaker rating than the pros from the Big Bend State.
However, the guests have the clearly better offensive department compared to the home side. With Ja Morant, the fifth best shooter in the NBA is currently in their own ranks and a total of five players can be discovered in the squad of the troops from the Southwest Division, who have achieved an average double-digit point output.
Glass-cleaning Grizzlies convincing
In addition, the men from the “Grindhouse” present themselves very efficient in rebounding. Only three teams deliver more boards than the Grizzlies per game. The return of Dillon Brooks is also encouraging. The small forward is an excellent two-way player and achieved the second-best scoring value in Memphis last season.
In his season debut in the penultimate game against the Hornets, the Canadian immediately scored 20 points as well as four rebounds and six assists. A very strong result, especially considering that he only played 26 minutes.
Although Brooks missed last night’s game against the Phoenix Suns again due to a hand injury, this could have been just a precautionary measure, as it is now a particularly physically demanding back-to-back game.
Projected Memphis Grizzlies lineup:
Jackson – Bane – Adams – Melton – Morant
New Orleans Pelicans – Memphis Grizzlies Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The last time Louisiana and Tennessee faced each other was last May in Memphis. At that time, the Grizzlies narrowly prevailed 115-110. This ended a series of five straight losses for the basketball players from the Bluff City. For the next edition of New Orleans against Memphis at the “Hive”, the odds are pointing in the direction of another victory for the visitors.
New Orleans Pelicans – Memphis Grizzlies Tip
Jonas Valanciunas is currently in high demand for the home side from the Creole State. The second best rebounder in the NBA after Rudy Gobert of Utah not only leads this ranking in New Orleans, but is also ahead in points and blocks among the currently remaining players.
But no matter how hard the Latvian centre works, he cannot compensate for the absence of Williamson and Ingram. For the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies, the tip is therefore aimed at the next defeat for the hosts.
In addition to the tight personnel situation on the side of the home side, the better condition of the guests from the “Home of the Blues” speaks for the prediction. The ROTY of 2020 Ja Morant is in good form and with Dillon Brooks an enormously important player is available again for both sides of the court.
At Bwin, betting odds of 1.78 can be used for the showdown between the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies for the prediction.
