NBA: Atlanta Hawks vs. New Orleans Pelicans Preview, Odds, Prediction

New Orleans Pelicans host the Atlanta Hawks in one of the most exciting events on the NBA schedule this Tuesday night. These two sides have a similar record, and they both are on the verge of the playoffs and the play-in tournaments in their respective conferences. Both the Hawks and the Pels oscillate a lot, and consistency has been their crucial problem in the current season. Atlanta’s chemistry is the reason for their unstable performances, while on the other end, the Pelicans are struggling with health. 

Preview

Atlanta Hawks (27-27, +150) will play its fifth consecutive road game in New Orleans. They have been cruising through the Western Conference for quite a while and, during that stretch, have two wins and two defeats.

After losing to the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center, the Hawks won the Suns and the Jazz in their respective arenas, before suffering a failure at the Ball Arena in Denver, against the Nuggets, 128-108. The hosts were quite confident throughout all 48 minutes, and the Hawks had no chances of winning.

One of the main reasons for that was poor three-point shooting, with the Hawks making only six of their 20 attempts. Trae Young’s absence is the other factor, an even bigger one. Dejuonte Murray scored 28 points and 10 assists, De’Andre Hunter scored 20, and AJ Griffin scored 15.

New Orleans Pelicans (28-27, -185) is back home following a pretty nasty road trip during which the Pels met with the top teams in the league. Appearing at the Smoothie King Center positively impacted Ingram and the crew, who posted back-to-back victories. 

After beating the Lakers 131-126, they rolled over the Kings, who are one of the top seeds in the West, 136-104. As you can see, the offensive productivity of this crew was at a very high level. 

Trey Murphy III is excellent these days. After a couple of very good performances, the shooting guard had 30 points against the Kings, hitting six threes in eight attempts, missing just two of his overall 11 shots. CJ McCollum added 24 buckets, while Naji Marshall added 17. Willy Hernangomez was an X-factor coming off the bench to post 22 buckets and 16 rebounds. 

Head to Head Games

The Hawks were better in the first meeting of the year. That was in early November at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, where hosts had to go through overtime to win, 124-121. Youg had 34 buckets and ten assists, while Murray notched a triple-double with 22 buckets, 11 assists, and 10 boards. Clint Capela added 21 points and impressive 19 rebounds. CJ and Zion each had 29 for the Pels, while Herb Jones added 19. 

Prediction

With or without Trae Young, our pick in this event in New Orleans. They play at home, with 19 wins and nine losses, with all the troubles and injuries. Another factor is Atlanta’s energy. The Hawks are on the road for quite some time, and that will take a toll at some point. The chances are high to see their collapse against the Pels, who like to play high-paced basketball, and who know how to break down the rivals at home early on.

Pick: New Orleans Pelicans win