San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans 4/13/22: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds, Predictions
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San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans Matchup Preview (4/13/22)
In terms of excitement, this play-in game for the Western Conference will undoubtedly be the lesser of the two; however, there is still a legitimate chance for the winner of this game to give either the Los Angeles Clippers or Minnesota TImberwolves a run for the No. 8 seed. San Antonio came out of nowhere to snatch the last play-in spot from the Los Angeles Lakers, who choked it away in the previous few months. Dejounte Murray has willed this team to a play-in game, despite having an inferior roster to most NBA teams. They still have to grab back-to-back wins to see the playoffs, but there is a chance! New Orleans was in a similar position as the Spurs, but its struggles began at the beginning of the season when it started 1-12! Even though the Pelicans have not returned Zion Williamson to the lineup, they still managed to scrape together enough wins to be involved in a play-in game, which is insanely impressive. Check out my analysis on each team and this game below to see who I think will win and advance to the second play-in game!
San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans Betting Odds
An interesting nugget of information: New Orleans is the second-best team in the NBA against the spread as a home favorite, while the San Antonio Spurs are the sixth-best team ATS as road dogs. There is not necessarily a clear trend that can point us in one particular direction for this matchup. For games like these, I tend to lean towards the team with more talented players. In this case, that would be the Pelicans, who have Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum as well as several impressive complementary players. When Ingram and McCollum have played together in their past ten games, the Pels have gone 8-2. Interestingly enough, New Orleans is 1-3 this season against the Spurs, but that alone does not scare me. In my opinion, the Spurs just don’t have enough talent to keep up with New Orleans and even with a 5.5-point spread, I’m not scared off of the Pels.
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How To Watch
Date: 4/13/22
Time: 9:30 PM ET
Arena: Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
Channel: ESPN
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San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
PG: Dejounte Murray
SG: Joshua Primo
SF: Devin Vassell
PF: Keldon Johnson
C: Jakob Poeltl
San Antonio Spurs Analysis
Despite the Western Conference being top-heavy with a lot of room at the bottom for a team with a mediocre record to sneak into the play-in games, this has still been an insanely impressive season for the San Antonio Spurs. Who would have thought the Spurs would finish with a better record than the Los Angeles Lakers? The fact that they are even sniffing the playoffs with this roster is borderline mind-boggling, but that is the power of having Gregg Popovich as the head coach. San Antonio is led by its athletic, playmaking guard Dejounte Murray, who has averaged 21 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds this season! Murray has missed 14 games this season, and the Spurs went 4-10 without him; his presence is imperative to this team. Luckily, he will be available for San Antonio, so expect a massive performance from him.
New Orleans Pelicans Starting Lineup
PG: C.J. McCollum
SG: Herb Jones
SF: Brandon Ingram
PF: Jaxson Hayes
C: Jonas Valanciunas
New Orleans Pelicans Analysis
Since the All-Star break, the New Orleans Pelicans have boasted the ninth-highest offensive and ninth-highest defensive ratings in the NBA. That sample size is quite significant as it covers 23 Pelicans games. The addition of C.J. McCollum has been everything for this squad, and while the Pels aren’t banging down the door of the Western Conference Finals, this is a great start, in my opinion. Depending on what happens with Zion Williamson in the off-season, this team will either get better by bringing him back or better by trading him for other pieces to help them win now. The best ability is availability in professional leagues like the NBA. I would not put it out of the realm of possibility for the Pels to win this game and then upset either the Los Angeles Clippers or Minnesota Timberwolves to sneak into the playoffs with the way they have played in the past few months.
