23): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds

By Andrew Norton | Feb 24, 2023, 11:20pm

Contents

The Knicks hope to continue their strong play when they host New Orleans in Madison Square Garden.

Take a look at our in-depth analysis for this game, featuring key matchups, injury news, projected starting lineups, and our own betting picks and predictions!

New Orleans Pelicans Vs. New York Knicks Betting Odds

New York is a three-point home favorite against the Pelicans on Saturday night. Zion Williamson suffered a setback in his recovery and won’t be available for the foreseeable future, while Dyson Daniels has a questionable tag.

Meanwhile, the Knicks should only be without Evan Fournier for this matchup unless they decide to scratch someone right before game time.

New Orleans Pelicans Vs. New York Knicks Prediction

After an incredible start to the 2022-23 regular season that had them in first place in the Western Conference through the first handful of weeks, the New Orleans Pelicans have stumbled.

Since then, their plummet has seen them fall from first place to seventh; they are merely one game removed from dropping further to 11th place, which would keep them out of the play-in tournament altogether.

However, New Orleans has somewhat of an excuse: injuries. Williamson and Ingram have both played fewer than half of the Pelicans’ regular season games.

Still, the Pels have not resembled the team recently that they did in the last third of the 2021-22 season, when they ranked in the top five in offensive and defensive rating post-All-Star break and scared the No. 1 seeded Phoenix Suns in the playoffs.

During that stretch last year, they were also without Zion Williamson, so any excuse at this point has become moot.

Meanwhile, the Knicks have looked terrific, winning six of their past seven games. Further, three of those wins were on the road!

In that span, New York has an offensive rating just shy of 123, an admirable mark for a team that has been sporadic at times on that end of the floor over the past few seasons.

New York has not been great at home, but that does not concern me too much here. The Knicks have been a better basketball team recently behind All-Star-caliber play from Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle. Back the Knicks in this spot.

Betting Trends

New Orleans is 11-18-1 ATS on the road in 2022-23
New York is 12-16-3 ATS at home in 2022-23
The combined over record of these two teams is 63-56-2 in 2022-23

Key Matchups

After scoring 46 points in his last game against the Washington Wizards, Julius Randle will be a part of our key matchup of the night, along with the Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram. See below whether we think Randle can replicate his last outing in this matchup or if Ingram will outperform him!

Brandon Ingram vs. Julius Randle

Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle both have had massive games recently; Ingram scored 36 points against the Toronto Raptors, while Randle posted a 46-point game against the Wizards. These guys are in line for a huge last third of the 2022-23 regular season.

This season, the Pelicans have done a terrific job defending power forwards, allowing the fourth-fewest points and the fifth-fewest rebounds. Those marks are particularly impressive considering that when Zion Williamson does play, he usually is the weak link in the Pels’ defense.

Thus, the combination of Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, and Naji Marshall has done a great job of defending frontcourt players this season.

While Ingram won’t always be matched up on Randle, as Jones will likely defend him for a larger portion of the game, it will be fun to see these two high-scorers going head-to-head. Still, I like Ingram to have a bigger game due to R.J. Barrett’s mediocre one-on-one defense. Advantage: Ingram.

New Orleans Pelicans Starting Lineup

PG: CJ McCollum
SG: Josh Richardson
SF: Herb Jones
PF: Brandon Ingram
C: Jonas Valanciunas

New Orleans Pelicans Team Pages

New York Knicks Starting Lineups

PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Quentin Grimes
SF: R.J. Barrett
PF: Julius Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson

Key Injuries

New Orleans Pelicans Injuries: Dyson Daniels (Q), E.J. Liddell (Out), Zion Williamson (Out)

New York Knicks Injuries: Evan Fournier (Out)

Andrew Norton

Drew is one of the NBA Lead Writers at Lineups.com, specializing in betting content such as game predictions and player props. With a deep knowledge of players and prospects, Drew has an extensive edge in covering everything NBA.