NBA: New Orleans Pelicans vs Milwaukee Bucks Preview, Odds, Prediction

The New Orleans Pelicans and the Milwaukee Bucks are opening the 2022 year with a clash that features these two franchises going against one another. The Pels had high hopes regarding this year, but they simply didn’t meet the required level of play. Right now, they are 13-22, far below the playoff zone. And that’s something they didn’t plan. Neither did they expect to see Zion Williamson’s return delayed this long. The champions are slowly catching their rhythm. Giannis is in beast mode, the majority of the lineup is back, and healthy, and the results are superb.

Preview

New Orleans Pelicans (13-22, +450) are in solid form, winning five of their last six games. That sole loss was on the road against the OKC Thunder. The most recent event was at home versus the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom the Pels defeated 108-104.

The franchise from New Orleans managed to erase a 19-point deficit from the first quarter once they fell behind 39-20. A strong response of the shorthanded Pels surprised pretty much everyone. Without Brandon Ingram, who is the leader of this pack, just a few believed that NE has enough power to hit back.

Herbert Jones had a team-high 26 points with seven boards, Devonte Graham added 18, while Garrett Temple scored 17, missing only one shot from the field. Jonas Valanciunas posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Gary Clark made all of his 12 points behind the arc.

Milwaukee Bucks (24-13, -650) recorded five straight victories, scoring 117 or more points in four of them. Mike Budenholzer’s offense is again breaking the rivals with high intensity and fast pace, and even though many think that Milwaukee’s main weapon is defense, in our opinion, the situation is quite the opposite.

Before tonight’s game, the Bucks had back-to-back contests in Florida against the Orlando Magic. The first ended 127-110 for Milwaukee and the second 136-118. The guests from Wisconsin outrebounded the Magic, 50-33, creating a huge difference under the rim.

Giannis scored 33 points in 31 minutes, grabbing 12 boards and dishing five assists, with two steals and blocks each. Jrue Holiday ended the night with 25 points, seven assists, and five boards, while Khris Middleton delivered 22 points. Boogie Cousins was again very good, playing 16 minutes and scoring 15 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the field.

Head to Head Games

The two sides met two weeks ago in Big Easy. The home side squeezed out a victory after overtime, 116-112, with Graham scoring eight three-pointers. He had 26 points, Valanciunas 24, and Ingram 22. On the other side, Holiday was fantastic with 40 buckets, but his only help was Grayson Allen with 25 points.

Prediction

The Bucks are massive favorites here, regardless of whether Ingram and Josh Hart play for the Pelicans in this one. Their win is out of the question, but the odds on that are pretty low. That is why we believe that betting on the Bucks covering the spread is much better. The odds are much higher, while the risk isn’t that big. We’ve seen that the Bucks offense is working perfectly, and despite the good form of the upcoming rivals, it won’t stop in this event.

Pick: Bucks -11 -110