Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images/Sipa USA
Toronto Raptors vs New Orleans Pelicans: Both teams are in trouble
The New Orleans Pelicans are hosting the Toronto Raptors today at Smoothie King Center.
The Raptors are still winless on the road
The Toronto Raptors are 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 4-14 record, including 0-10 on the road. They have lost the last two games and are coming off a 102-100 loss to the Detroit Pistons. The Raptors take and make the least three pointers in the league and are ranked 17th averaging 112.2 points per game. RJ Barrett leads the team with 22.8 points per game.
The Pelicans are flying low
The New Orleans Pelicans are at the bottom of the Western Conference with an 4-14 record, including 3-6 at home. They have lost the last five games and are coming off a 114-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers. New Orleans is the worst offensive team in the league averaging 104 points per game and is ranked 26th shooting 44% from the field. Brandon Ingram leads the team averaging 22.9 points per game.
Betting Trends
The Pelicans are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games overall, 1-6 SU in their last 7 home games and 0-6 SU in their last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference. They are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games overall, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games against the Raptors are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games against teams from the Atlantic Division. New Orleans has played over the total point line in 5 of their last 7 games played on Wednesday and 6 of their last 7 home games played on Wednesday while has played under in 5 of their last 7 games overall. The Raptors are 2-9 SU in their last 11 games overall, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games against the Pelicans, 0-13 SU in their last 13 games on the road and 2-18 SU in their last 20 games against teams from the Western Conference. They are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall, 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against the Pelicans and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games against teams from the Southwest Division. Toronto has played under the total point line in 8 of their last 10 games overall.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams are in deep trouble with only four wins so far in the season. That was expected by the Raptors, who are still in a rebuilding mode, while the reason for the Pelicans struggles are injuries. Zion Williamson is still out, and some even believe that he may get traded before returning to action. The Pelicans are definitely under much bigger pressure than the Raptors, and given that Toronto has yet to win on the road, this may be the game they finally do that. Therefore, we go with the Raptors to cover the +3.5-point spread.
