NBA: Atlanta Hawks VS New Orleans Pelicans Pick and Predictions 02/07/2023

Game: 7:30 PM ET,  Tuesday, February 7th, 2023

Venue:  Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: NBA League Pass

Hawks: 27-27, 8th place Eastern Conference

Pelicans: 28-27, 9th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Pelicans -1.5, O/U 236.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pelicans -1.5, O/U 237

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pelicans -1, O/U 236.5

Hawks: PG Trae Young, SG Dejounte Murray, SF De’Andre Hunter, PF John \Collins, C Clint Capela

Pelicans: PG CJ McCollum, SG Brandon Ingram, SF Trey Murphy III, PF Herbert Jones, C Jonas Valanciunas

An inter conference matchup that is a battle of the birds. East Vs West.. What does it all say? Different teams with near identical records that intend to compare rosters while having key guys listed as Day to Day.  They can’t do anything more than spoil the party for the other team since they are in different conferences. Still the battle and great betting opportunity will boil down to which roster is full. The Atlanta Hawks are in a weird place for sure…. For the last 3 seasons they thought their best player was PG Trae Young… it was obvious. The guy hits shots. Real deep, Steph Curry styled shots!  The guy is a great nice guy just ask anyone who knows him. Trae Young shoots great and is a great person… What more does a franchise need?... Well they traded for PG Dejounte Murray to play a 2-point guard set… and the truth is that PG/SG Dejounte Muray is the current best player on the team.  The work for the Hawks is either to get Trae to notice this or get him out of town… since they won’t do the latter (and they shouldn’t) they need to make this roster work.. At least at the guard spits.  The New Orleans Pelicans are a squad built around PF Zion Williamson… and they should not be… Zion will never be healthy again if ever?  The guy has missed so many games it is laughable and when he takes the court with a high jumping 300 pound 6’5 body?... he will always get hurt again. He is the best at efficiency in the NBA when he plays… BUT HE NEVER PLAYS.  The Pelicans need to build a team around SF Brandon Ingram, who only just got back from injury himself… that way Zion would only be the cherry on the Sundae when he plays…. And he may never really play ( like Greg Oden).

The Atlanta Hawks have won 5 of their last 10 games.. Totally in line with a team that is exactly .500 on the season.  They are a win, some lose, some organization.  They are 6-4 ATS during that stretch. They lost their last game to the Denver Nuggets 128-108… for a big loss ATS.  They could not handle Joker, MPJ, and Jamal Murray… few can this season thus far.  In the loss they got 28 points & 10 assists from PG/SG Dejounte Murray.  Trea did not play and is still listed as day to day.  The Hawks may need to make a decision on whether the player to build around is Dejounte or Trea?... The answer is Dejounte.

The New Orleans Pelicans have only won 2 of their last 10 games… yet they won those in the last two so they are on a 2-game winning streak. The trouble the Pelicans had was health… Ingram and Zion out at the same time… and a massive amount of uncertainty on how to fill the void.  Forward Trey Murphy III has stepped up and  they are winning again.  They beat the Sacramento Kings 136-104 while getting 30 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assist from Forward Trey Murphy III as he shot 9 for 11 from the field!  CJ McCollum dropped 24 points while ALSO shooting 9 of 11 from the field.  When you get efficiency at that rate in the NBA you will beat anybody!  Really anybody.  

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The Hawks are 8th in scoring with 116.3 points per game, 15th in rebounds with 43.7. On defense they rank 21st in defense of scoring with 116.5 points per game… They give up 0.2 points per game more than they score.  Practically even… like their record and their expectations.

The Pelicans are 10th in scoring with 115.5 points per game, 8th in rebounds with 44.4 per game.  On defense they rank 15th in defense of scoring while allowing 113.7 points per game.  Their +2 points a game points to the fact that they were winning a lot before the injuries and could easily get back there if they had full health and maybe a draft day trade.

Our prediction for Tuesday, February 7th is….  Hawks 118 - Pelicans 111

Bet on the Hawks.  The Pelicans have one two in a row and seem a bit back alive, but it has been chaos.  The Hawks have a bit of strength and experience at the forward position that the Kings simply didn’t have.  The hawks will take this one until the Pelicans get their superstar forwards back.

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The Hawks are 1-7 ATS when playing on 2 days rest this season.

The Pelicans are 14-10 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 this season.

Hawks: SF DeAndre Hunter.  Deandre was the big initial score for the Pelicans from the draft picks they got off the Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade.  He was taken 4th overall by the l;akers but then the Pelicans flipped him to the Hawks for the #8 pick and multiple lesser pieces…  That trade completely flopped for the Pelicans (and for the Lakers).  Deandre is a two-way player with tons and tons of upside, but he has had some injuries that has kept him under wraps from public awareness.  He will be a restricted free agent this offseason and several teams will kick his tires.

Pelicans: SF/PF Trey Murphy III.  drafted in the middle of the 2021 draft… This second year player is making the most with the unexpected minutes from Ingram AND Zion out.  He may be worth a look by several other teams that are in need of 6’8 small forwards who can score with efficiency.  He may also develop into the type of player that allows the team to move on from one or two other more expensive players.

Hawks: Nate “shrug it off” McMillan

Pelicans: Willie “when is it my time?” Green