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Friday night's intriguing Western Conference matchup between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans takes place at the Paycom Center. New Orleans had a good start to the season, but they know they need to turn things around after losing four in a row coming into this game.
Three straight victories have boosted Oklahoma City's confidence recently, and they'll want that to continue going into the weekend. The season series between the two teams began with a victory for New Orleans, who will now aim to maintain its lead on Friday night.
Since the start of the season, New Orleans has dominated the league's conversation, but a recent four-game losing streak has some wondering if and when they can turn things around.
Even though they currently have an 18-12 record, they were in the top half of the Western Conference before their losing streak began. Given the caliber of the teams they lost to in Milwaukee, Phoenix, and twice against Utah, all of which occurred on the road, it isn't quite as alarming.
A three-game winning streak has given Oklahoma City newfound confidence, despite the fact that they had a sluggish start to the season. They still rank among the league's weakest teams overall. Even though a victory over Memphis last week caught some people's attention, two of those victories have come against Portland, which isn't the most spectacular of accomplishments.
Oklahoma City's strong home performance is one aspect that cannot be disregarded. With a 9-7 home record entering this game and New Orleans having trouble away from home, Oklahoma City may have a great chance to pick up another spectacular victory before the break.
New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Match Details
Fixture: New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder
Date and Time: Friday, December 23 at 8:00 PM ET
Venue: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma CIty
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New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Injury Report
New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Odds
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New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Starting 5s
Oklahoma: PG - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | SG - Josh Giddey | SF - Luguentz Dort | PF - Jalen Williams | C - Aleksej Pokusevski
New Orleans: PG - CJ McCollum | SG - Dyson Daniels | SF - Herbert Jones | PF - Naji Marshall | C- Jonas Valanciunas
New Orleans Pelicans vs Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Prediction
Given that Oklahoma City fails to control second-chance opportunities, New Orleans should be able to find a good number of easy buckets inside thanks to their size.
Additionally, New Orleans has a top-notch perimeter defense, so by hindering Gilgeous-Alander, Oklahoma City won't have any other options for success. In order to cover the spread tonight, choose New Orleans.
Pick: New Orleans +1.5 (-110)
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