New Orleans Pelicans vs Boston Celtics Preview (1/11/23): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds

New Orleans hopes to build on its 20-point road victory against Washington when it heads to TD Garden for a non-conference bout with the Boston Celtics. Check out our predictions and betting picks for this game below, as well as the starting lineups and injury news!

New Orleans Pelicans Vs. Boston Celtics Betting Odds

The Boston Celtics are massive 8.5-point home favorites against the short-handed New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans will be without two of its superstars, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, but will still have CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas available for this game. Additionally, E.J. Liddell is still ruled out, and Herb Jones carries a questionable designation ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics are relatively healthy once again, with only Danilo Gallinari being ruled out. However, Marcus Smart is still considered day-to-day after a knee contusion injury; he missed the Celtics’ last game.

New Orleans Pelicans Vs. Boston Celtics Prediction

New Orleans has caught a few tough breaks this year, with Brandon Ingram (15 games played) and Zion Williamson (29 games played) set to miss a significant amount of regular season games in the 2022-23 season. Still, the Pelicans have amassed a 25-16 record halfway through the season, which is good enough for third place in the Western Conference. They have accomplished this by boasting an incredibly balanced attack, as they rank seventh in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating. No other team besides the Boston Celtics ranks in the top seven in both offensive and defensive ratings.

C.J. McCollum has been to thank for the Pels staying consistent in Zion and Ingram’s absence; he has posted roughly 27 points, six assists, and five rebounds on a 47/50/83 shooting split in his past 13 games. The three-point shooting is the most impressive, as he has been shooting at a 50% clip with significant volume (nine 3PA per game!)

Once Zion and Ingram return, New Orleans will light up the league; it has too many weapons on both ends of the floor and plenty of depth for a deep playoff run. I still imagine New Orleans keeping this game relatively close, even though Boston is rolling. The C’s moneyline and Pels against the spread will be my play here.

Betting Trends

• New Orleans is 8-11 ATS on the road in 2022-23
• Boston is 12-9 ATS at home in 2022-23
• The combined over record of these two teams is 44-36-2 in 2022-23

Key Matchups

The key matchup in this game between two titans in their respective conferences belongs to Jayson Tatum and Herb Jones, who will likely be defending each other for all, or at least part of, this one. Check out the analysis below to see if Herb Jones can contain Tatum!

Herb Jones vs. Jayson Tatum

As one of the most talented offensive scorers in the NBA, Jayson Tatum will get “his” every game. It is just a given at this point. However, some defenders can contain superstars, and Herb Jones has proven that he is on that path, even though he is still relatively young.

Jones has faced Tatum in three games during his young NBA career. In those games, Tatum has averaged 28 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, to no one’s surprise. However, one thing that sticks out from Tatum’s game log is his struggle to shoot from deep in these games. New Orleans, as a whole, has several terrific perimeter defenders, so this could be somewhat expected. Still, Tatum scarcely relies (solely) on three-pointers to put up many points, and he gets the advantage in this one. Advantage: Tatum.

New Orleans Pelicans Starting Lineup

PG: CJ McCollum
SG: Trey Murphy III
SF: Herb Jones
PF: Naji Marshall
C: Jonas Valanciunas

Boston Celtics Starting Lineups

PG: Derrick White
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams III

Key Injuries

New Orleans Pelicans Injuries: Zion Williamson (Out), Brandon Ingram (Out), EJ Liddell (Out), Herb Jones (Q)

Boston Celtics Injuries: Marcus Smart (Q), Danilo Gallinari (Out)