NBA: Washington Wizards VS New Orleans Pelicans Pick and Predictions 01/28/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Saturday, January 28th, 2023

Venue: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV:  NBA League Pass

Wizards: 22-26, 10th place Eastern Conference

Pelicans: 26-23, 4th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Pelicans -4.5, O/U 230.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Pelicans -4.5, O/U 229.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Pelicans -4.5, O/U 230

Wizards: SF Corey Kispert, PF Kyle Kuzma, C Daniel Gafford, SG Bradley Beal, PG Delon Wright

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

I do not care what planet you are on!  The best watch of the night in the NBA is this litke dumb matchup between the 10th place Eastern Conference team and the 4th place Western Conference team. Not because it will be great!  BUt because you can see GM’s that waited forever and made small wrong moves that detonated their team’s chances at ultimate glory.  The Washington Wizards failed to go into full rebuild when they had traded PG John Wall (years ago) and waited on  SG Bradley Beal… even though Bradley Beal was worth an entire “other team” in picks and players.  The Waiting is the hardest part.. Because it does not work.  The New Orleans Pelicans made one of the best trade in NBA history 3 ½ seasons ago when they traded oft injured PF Anthony Davis for everything under the Sun that the Lakers had… They then failed on Julius Randle, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball… letting the first walk and holding on to the other too long.  They did do some things right by extending SF Brandon Ingram and trading for SG CJ MCCollum… but c’mon…  the Lakers trade meant they could have had it all if they had NOT traded for C Jaxson Hayes on draft night and NOT done a lot of other things.  The great betting opportunity here is in knowing that the Pelicans are real contenders and the Wizard’s players will be auditioning for their next teams.. Except for Bradley Beal.. because he is (laughably) “untouchable”.

The Washington Wizards have won 5 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 4-game winning streak… and they just pulled off a trade of PF Rui Hachimura to the Lakers for a waivable player and 3 2nd round draft picks.  They won their last game over the Houston Rockets 108-103 for a win against a close spread.  In the win they got 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists from SF/PF Kyle Kuzma.  He got help from SG Bradley Beal who got 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.. And he will never bring them multiple good players and multiple good draft picks again, but he will cost them 32% of the cap!  Ha!

The New Orleans Pelicans are on a horrible 6-game losing streak.  It is the type of streak that could tank a season if they end up needing home court advantage in the playoffs in order to shine. Lots of teams need that.  They last lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves (which hurt my wallet because they also lost ATS).  In the loss they got 25 points from SG CJ McCollum and 15 points and 12 assists from Center Jonas Valanciunas.  It was all for naught because this team was built to cruise with PF Zion Williamson in the lineup… He is actually on the injury list and may be for the next decade 20-30 games at a time.  The trade deadline is coming and it is a wonder that C Jaxson Hayes and PF Larry Nance Jr are still on this team when they are so desperately needed on the Pacers.

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WAS: 22-26, 22-23-3 ATS, 23-22-3 ATS, 23-22-3 O/U, 10-16 in road games.

NOP: 26-23, 24-25 ATS, 27-22 O/U, 17-8 in home games.

The Wizards are 20th in scoring with 112.7 points per game, 9th in rebounds with 44.2  per game, 8th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 7th in blocks per game with 5.3.

The Pelicans are 10th in scoring with 115.3 points per game, 8th in rebounds with 44.4 per game, 23rd in AST/To ratio with 1.7, and 21st in blocks per game with 4.3.

Our prediction for Saturday, January 28th is…. Pelicans 115 - Wizards 108

The Wizards are going to be just the slump buster the Pelicans need right now.

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The Pelicans are 2-0 ATS versus Washington at Washington the last 3 seasons.

The Pelicans are 20-8 ATS after 3 consecutive Unders the last 3 seasons.

The Wizards are 5-1 ATS versus Southwest Division Opponents this season.

Wizards: SF Kyle Kuzma.  Kyle is a real NBA starter and he should be traded like that.  This team held onto SG Bradley Beal 3 seasons too long.  Their missed chance to have 3-4 first round picks and a compensating player for him will drown them for a decade.  Good luck Kyle! However if the team decides to keep and build around Kuzma... It would do them well to remember that he is not an Alpha.

Pelicans: PF/PG Herbert Davis.  Herbert is a shocking surprise with his late 1st round selection just a few seasons ago.  Watch him play defense at whatever position they put him at. If his draft was done again he would be top-10 easy… and the Pelicans have him on a deep discount!

Wizards: Wes “which way is up?” Unseld Jr.

Pelicans: Willie “let me kill you slowly” Green