NBA Pick #1: 507 New Orleans Pelicans @ 508 Golden State Warriors
Rating: 4 units - Regular Play
Pick: Over 228 (Play up to 230)
Odds: -104 / 1.96 on Pinnacle Sports OR -110 / 1.91 on BetOnline
Golden State started their "death lineup" on their last game at New Orleans and they completely crushed the Pelicans in both ends of the floor. The Warriors will start it once again tonight and knowing that they can easily outscore the Pelicans with such lineup, I expect them to come relaxed tonight. Golden State did a great job on defense on their last game, especially on guarding Davis, but I think New Orleans wasn't ready for such defensive pressure from the Warriors and this was why they shot 4-26 3pts. Mirotic also couldn't take advantage of the size edge that he got over Golden State's lineup and shot 1-7 FG.
The Pelicans' mindset for tonight will be clear, as their coach Gentry clearly said:
"You're not going to beat them if you can't score 115 points. I don't care how good your defense is, I don't care what you do. You have to be able to score 110, 115 points to have any chance to beat them," said Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry. "I didn't think that we had any kind of push. The pace to the game wasn't anywhere near where we need to have it to try to win the game. ... You score 92, you won't have a chance to beat them."
So, I expect New Orleans to push the pace because they'll try to outscore Golden State in order to win this game. I expect a very high scoring game tonight and so, I'll be taking the Over in here.