Georgia Tech cooperated as the holiday free play. I’ll go with an NBA call for this evening’s comp.
PELICANS at CLIPPERS
Take: PELICANS +6.5
I won’t say these are teams going in opposite directions, but at least for the present, they actually are. New Orleans has finally come to life following the disastrous 1-11 open and the Pelicans arrive at Staples for tonight’s duel riding a three-game winning streak.
The Clippers are currently a mess. Lance Stephenson has been horrible. Paul Pierce is finally looking his age. DeAndre Jordan is not producing as he did when he was in his walk year, playing for the contract he now owns. The team appears to have chemistry issues, which really isn’t a surprise based on the track record of a couple of the newcomers. And oh yeah, they’re 3-8 in their last 11 games, including that utter disaster where they blew a massive lead and eventually got run out by the Warriors. I don’t think they’ve recovered yet from that calamity.
As for New Orleans, they still aren’t fielding a complete lineup, and Tyreke Evans is unlikely to play until Saturday night. But they do seem to finally be settling into the system head coach Alvin Gentry wants to utilize. As devastating as the 1-11 start has to be to their playoff hopes, one good winning streak gets them right back into the fray. I see this as a team that’s now trending the right way but they really need this game with a no-rest trip to the Utah altitude on deck.
The Clippers have an impressive roster as far as talent is concerned. But they aren’t showing it right now, and they’ve been an absolutely horrendous spread team at home going well back to roughly last year’s All-Star break. I’m getting enough with New Orleans to make this a playable spot, so I’ll be looking to fly with the Pelicans tonight.
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Two Black Friday 2* BEST BETS!
And my One & Only College Football GAME OF YEAR goes Saturday!