New Orleans Pelicans vs. New York Knicks: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/25/2023

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to watch: MSG, BSNO

DraftKings: Knicks -3.5

FanDuel: Knicks -3

BetMGM: Knicks -3.5

Caesars: Knicks -3

Pelicans: 30-30

Knicks: 34-27

The All-Star break is over in the NBA and it's time to get on the horse and finish up the final home stretch of the season. Big trades, uncertainty, and absolute hilarity across the board all gearing up for the final home stretch of this season. You know who is also gearing up for the home stretch? Our champion handicappers at bigal.com who are ready to win their way all the way to the playoffs. There's a lot going on that we can't wait for in these final 23-25 games and you're going to need every bit of hardcore analysis you can get from this group. Just in the last 30 days we've had some big winners. Doc's Sports has posted a 16-6-0 record in the last month (+$9,200). AAA Sports has killed it at 17-8-0, and then Al McMordie with a dominant 20-11-1 mark over the last 30 days. Everything you need to know and more about what's going on this league and sports in general will be a fun finish to the end. All you have to do is go to bigal.com and find our Best Bets page and put forth something that only you think is good. Here's a hint: Go to the bigal.com website and happy betting!

Okay, so the New York Knicks are maybe, likely for real and you should absolutely take this winning streak with the least amount of salt possible because I’m starting to believe. The Knocks will try for their fifth straight victory when they host the New Orleans Pelicans on the second game of a back-to-back at MSG on Saturday.

 

The Knicks are coming off a 115-109 win over the Washington Wizards in which I thought it started to favor the home team more with this one. But no one, including me, factored in Julius Randle going off for 46 points and seven made 3-pointers as the Knicks held off the Wizards to get that win.

 

RJ Barrett had 14 points, and Immanuel Quickley had 16 off the bench to help pace the Knicks and offset Jalen Brunson’s 13-point outing on 6 of 20 shooting.

 

“That was a big win for us,” Randle said. “We needed this, especially coming off the break. We know they're a team that gets off to fast starts, so they did that and we responded.”

 

That was a big win for the Knicks, who moved to within a game of the Brooklyn Nets for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. Not to mention thanks to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ three-game losing streak, the Knicks are now just three games back of the Cavs for the No. 4 seed. The fact that we’re even here talking about this being a possibility is quite arguably the most ridiculous thing we will talk about all year. And of course I’m talking about the Knicks challenging for homecourt advantage. The fact that this is a thing … good lord.

 

The Pelicans have lost three of the last four games and are coming off a 115-110 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday in their first game back from the All-Star break. New Orleans is still trying to stay afloat without Zion Williamson for the near future, but their playoff prospects are also falling fast because of it.

 

Brandon Ingram scored a game-high 36 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and CJ McCollum had 23 points, but no one else could make an impact outside of New Orleans’ two healthy stars. The Pelicans shot 46 percent from the floor.

 

“We got off to a sluggish start, missed some easy bunnies, had some turnovers, gave up some offensive rebounds, some transition points,” McCollum said. “I think that’s what shifted the game.”

 

The Pelicans are locked in a three-way tie from 7th to 9th and are 1.5 games back of the Dallas Mavericks for sixth place in the Western Conference. There’s a chance still for them to catch up, but with the Golden State Warriors getting Steph Curry back, and the prospect of the Los Angeles Lakers getting better, this doesn’t bode well.

 

This is setting up perfectly for the Knicks to continue this winning streak. I don’t trust the Pelicans right now. Until they get their act together, it’s not going to be a fun time for this team. Knicks 118, Pelicans 106

Pelicans are 7-14 ATS as a road underdog this season.

Pelicans are 52-59 ATS on the road the last 3 seasons.

Knicks are 50-29 ATS in the second half of the season the last 3 seasons.

PG: Jalen Brunson

SG: Quentin Grimes

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Julius Randle

C: Isaiah Hartenstein

PG: CJ McCollum

SG: Josh Richardson

SF: Brandon Ingram

PF: Herb Jones

C: Jonas Valanciunas

Injury report

Knicks: Evan Fournier (out)

Pelicans: Zion Williamson (hamstring, out)