Phoenix (43-31) at New Orleans (45-29)
When: Monday, April 1st 2024
Where: Smoothie King Center,
New Orleans, LA
Time: 8:00 ET | TV: League Pass
Opening Odds: Phoenix -1/225
The New Orleans Pelicans are in the middle of a brutal stretch of their schedule and it continues Monday night with a visit from the Phoenix Suns. In their current six-game homestand, the Pelicans have faced elite competition in losing to Oklahoma City, beating Milwaukee and losing 104-92 to Boston on Saturday. New Orleans led the NBA-leading Celtics 37-28 at the end of the first quarter but scored just 20 points in the next frame, 11 in the third and trailed by as many as 22 points in the fourth. New Orleans currently sits in fifth-place in the Western Conference standings.
Phoenix is sitting in seventh-place, two games back of the Pelicans and will play their final eight games against teams that are all at least 10 games over .500. Two of those games will come against New Orleans – tonight and again on April 7th. The Suns split the first two games on their current road trip in San Antonio. They then beat Denver on Wednesday before dropping a 128-103 decision in Oklahoma City even though Thunder All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was sidelined.
This is the second meeting between the teams this season with Phoenix winning 123-109 in New Orleans back on Jan. 19. The Suns are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings, while the Over has cashed in eight of the last 10 matchups. The Suns come into Monday’s contest as a slight 1-point favorite with a total of 225.
PHOENIX SUNS
Phoenix was embarrassed Friday night in the loss to the under-maned Thunder. They allowed OKC to shoot 56.3 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. All starters played less than 31 minutes, which means they’ll be rested and ready for the Pelicans. Kevin Durant led the way with 26 points but only had six rebounds. Grayson Allen led the team with nine boards but was just 1-of-9 from 3-point land. Bradley Beal scored 15 points, while Devin Booker contributed 14 points and five assists.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
The Pelicans still have three more home games this week before hitting the road for four games out West. Zion Williamson scored 25 points in a career-high 40 minutes in Saturday’s loss to the Celtics. New Orleans shot a paltry 39.5 percent from the field and 13-of-35 from beyond the arc. CJ McCollum added 24 points and six assists, but the team got nothing else from the rest of the roster. The Pelicans are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 against the Pacific Division.
Prediction:
This is a very even matchup and would be a great playoff series. The home team has won six of the last eight meetings and I’ll ride that trend in this one. The Pelicans are 6-3 in their last nine games against some pretty good competition. They also want to bounce back from that poor performance on Saturday. They’ll be ready for this one.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Pelicans +1
