Pels meet a fearful opponent!
The New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors will meet on 02/15/2022 starting at 02:00. The only showdown so far this season has been a close affair, ending in a narrow win for the Canadians.
New Orleans Pelicans – Statistics & current form
NOLA signed CJ McCollum last week, a powerful player from Portland who has great quality, especially on the offensive end. In his first outing against the Eastern league leaders from Miami, the shooting guard also presented himself solidly. Although the scoring output remained below his seasonal value, he delivered the best record on the Pels’ side with five assists.
In the following game against the Spurs last Sunday, McCollum was again very strong in scoring: He scored a whopping 36 points against the Texans and thus achieved the highest output of all players on the court.
Head Coach Willie Green cannot rely on a home bonus: Only three teams in the West have a lower winning percentage than the Pels’ roughly 44 percent in their home games.
Toronto Raptors – Statistics & current form
The Raps have to make do without spectators in their home games and are apparently happy about every away game, as they do not have to operate under “training conditions” in these. Even if they are of course opposing fans, they are obviously conducive to the performance of the Canadians.
With 15 wins and eleven losses, Head Coach Nick Nurse’s squad definitely has a very strong away record. The Sixers alone top the Raptors’ resulting win rate of just under 58 per cent and Toronto have not lost any of their last five away games.
Admittedly, the most recent tasks with the two last-place teams in the West, Houston and Oklahoma, were also quite easy, but this does little to change the verdict of a fundamental away strength of the Raps.
New Orleans Pelicans – Toronto Raptors Tip
The Canadians, as just described, are a thoroughly unpleasant guest and they have been particularly fond of travelling to New Orleans in the recent past: Only one of the last seven guest games in Louisiana could not be won!
For the recent clash between the New Orleans Pelicans and Toronto Raptors, however, the forecast now includes more than 23.5 points and rebounds by CJ McCollum on the side of the hosts. The shooting guard has proven in his two games for the Pels so far that he can acclimatise to his new employer right away.
Specially in the last game against the Spurs, the 30-year-old, who was always a bit overshadowed by Damian Lillard in Portland, delivered an impressive performance with a double-double (36 points and eleven rebounds).
