DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a>, while New Orleans sits as a +205 underdog. The game\u2019s total is set at 232.5 points.\u00a0<\/p>\nPelicans vs. Trail Blazers Preview<\/p>\n
New Orleans Pelicans Preview<\/p>\n
As expected, the Pelicans\u2019 playoff hopes ended in March, another disastrous month in a season chock-full of them. Sunday\u2019s 32-point thumping from the Rockets handed New Orleans its fifth-straight loss \u2014 and the squad may visit Portland without its offensive engine.<\/p>\n
Star forward Trey Murphy III has missed the last three games with a right ankle sprain, and he\u2019s questionable to suit up against the Trail Blazers. The squad\u2019s offense has sputtered as it scrambles to compensate for Murphy\u2019s team-leading 21.7 points and 3.8 assists per game.<\/p>\n
While Zion Williamson remains an imposing force with the ball in his hands, the former first overall pick never quite emerged as the\u00a0 \u201cfranchise savior\u201d he was expected to become. New Orleans on Thursday will also need hefty contributions from the likes of Saddiq Bey and Dejounte Murray \u2014 each of whom averages roughly 17 points per game \u2014 if it wants to keep things competitive.<\/p>\n
Portland Trail Blazers Preview<\/p>\n
Playoff basketball could return to the City of Roses for the first time in five years. The Trail Blazers have clinched a play-in spot after a scorching March, including seven wins in their last nine games. Following Tuesday\u2019s 114\u2013104 road win over the Clippers, Portland sits just half a game behind LA for the eighth seed in the West with five games remaining.<\/p>\n
Even without Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant, Portland\u2019s offense remains formidable behind All-Star forward Deni Avdija. The dynamic 25-year-old ranks in the NBA\u2019s top 15 with 23.9 points and 6.7 assists per game, while also pulling down seven rebounds a night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But offensive firepower played a minor role in Portland\u2019s spring surge. Anchored by nascent seven-footer Donovan Clingan, the Trail Blazers trailed only the reigning champion Thunder for the league\u2019s top defensive rating in March.<\/p>\n
Pelicans vs. Trail Blazers Pick, Best Bet<\/p>\n
While Trey Murphy could return for New Orleans, any spark he provides should be neutralized by Portland\u2019s recent lockdown defense. The Trail Blazers not only have an edge on both ends of the floor but also far more to play for as they attempt to secure a favorable seed in the play-in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With upcoming matchups against the Spurs, Nuggets, and Clippers looming ahead, expect the Blazers to capitalize on Thursday\u2019s \u201cgimme\u201d against the woeful Pelicans in spread-covering fashion.<\/p>\n
Best Bet: Portland Trail Blazers -6.5 (-108)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cooper Albers previews Thursday\u2019s NBA matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Portland Trail Blazers. Western Conference…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-694446","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanspelicans","14":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116336677967955287","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694446"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694446\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}