NBA Picks 4/2 – New Orleans Pelicans @ LA Clippers

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The injury-depleted New Orleans Pelicans (21-54) visit the Los Angeles Clippers (43-32) tonight at Intuit Dome. This is the third and final meeting between the Pelicans and Clippers. The teams split the first two meetings in New Orleans with the Clippers winning the opener 116-113 on Dec. 30, and the Pelicans coming out on top in the rematch 127-120 on March 11. The Pelicans have won five straight games at Los Angeles. The Clippers last home victory against the Pelicans occurred in January 2021. Los Angeles is a 17.5-point favorite and the total is 216.5.

New Orleans is coming off a 98-94 win against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night. The Pelicans trailed by nine points at halftime (52-43) and then outscored the Hornets 55-42 after the intermission. New Orleans took the lead for good after Jose Alvarado’s go-ahead, three-point play with 31 seconds left gave the Pels a 96-94 lead. Rookie Keion Brooks Jr. led New Orleans with 17 points (7-12 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) off the bench. He added eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks across 26 minutes.

The Clippers are coming off a 96-87 victory at Orlando on Monday night. The win concluded a four-game East Coast road trip that saw the Clippers go 3-1. Kawhi Leonard (21), Norman Powell (21) and James Harden (20) each scored at least 20 points in the win. Ivica Zubac amassed 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-5 FT), 20 rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes. It was his fourth game of the season with at least 20 rebounds. 

GAME STORYLINES: NEW ORLEANS

When the New Orleans Pelicans won the NBA Draft lottery in May 2019 and secured the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, it was deemed a monumental moment for the franchise as they would have the opportunity to select Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson. The six-foot-six Williamson was one of the most ballyhooed draft prospects in NBA history due to his powerful frame and extraordinary athleticism. It was assumed that Williamson would lead New Orleans to astronomical heights. 

Unfortunately for New Orleans, the six-year run of Zion Williamson in New Orleans has brought mostly despair due to numerous injuries and some weight issues for the 24-year-old Duke product. Williamson suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee as a rookie which limited him to just 24 games, and its been an uphill struggle for him to stay healthy ever since. He missed the entire 2021-22 season because of a fractured foot, and suited up for just 29 games the following season (2022-23) due to a right hamstring injury. 

Zion Williamson played in a career-best 70 games last season and led the Pelicans to a 49-33 record, which was their best finish since the 2008-09 season. He was having a spectacular game against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Play-In round game — 40 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists — before exiting the contest with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter due to a leg injury. The Pelicans went on to lose 110-106 to the Lakers, but they won their next game without Williamson and secured the No. 8 seed in the 2024 playoffs. 

Expectations for New Orleans were high coming into the 2024-25 season due to Zion Williamson playing in 70 games last season, the Pelicans finishing with a 49-33 record and the acquisition of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray from Atlanta. But injury woes doomed the entire Pelicans team right out of the gate as Murray fractured his hand in the season-opener against Chicago on Oct. 23. The injury sidelined Murray for a little over a month. Williamson then suffered a left hamstring injury on Nov. 6 against Cleveland. He returned on Jan. 7. Both players would go on to suffer season-ending injuries. Murray ended the season playing in only 31 games, while Williamson played in 30 games. 

To make things worse for the Pelicans, emerging fourth-year forward Trey Murphy III (career-high 21.2 pts, 5.1 rebs, 1.1 stls, 3 threes, 45.4% from 2 in 51 games) and veteran star guard C.J. McCollum (21.1 pts, 4.1 asts, 3.8 rebs, 3.1 threes, 44.4% from 2 in 56 games) were also plagued by injuries for the entire season before being shut down for the rest of the year. Which means the Pelicans four leading scorers will miss a total of 158 games. New Orleans also traded oft-injured All-Star Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors at the February trade deadline. 

With the season ending up being a total disaster due to an assortment of injuries, New Orleans will hope to net a high pick in June’s NBA draft. The 2025 draft is projected to have a plethora of highly skilled prospects and is considered one of the deepest drafts in recent history. The Pelicans could be quite formidable next season if they land an instant impact player in the 2025 draft and their four leading scorers stay healthy. 

GAME STORYLINES: L.A. CLIPPERS

The 2024-25 season represents a new era and direction for the Los Angeles Clippers after they made the decision to scrap the ill-fated Paul George-Kawhi Leonard pairing. The Clippers signed the All-Star duo as free agents in the summer of 2019 expecting at least one NBA title. Instead, what the Clippers got was five seasons of numerous injuries for both players which resulted in underachieving seasons. Los Angeles allowed Paul George to walk as a free agent and did not make an offer to retain him. 

Not only was Paul George gone, Kawhi Leonard’s status was unknown coming into the season. Leonard suffered an undisclosed injury during Game Three of the Clippers first-round series loss (4-2) to Dallas last April and never returned. Los Angeles was up 2-1 when they lost Leonard to injury. Leonard then withdrew from the United States Olympic team in July prior to competition. The explanation as to why Leonard left the Olympic team was vague.

It appeared as if the Los Angeles Clippers would begin the 2024-25 season in limbo with Paul George gone and Kawhi Leonard’s status up in the air. But the terrific play of 11-time All-Star James Harden (22.5 pts, team-high 8.6 asts, 5.8 rebs, 1.5 stls, 3 threes in 72 gms), guard Norman Powell (career-high 22.6 pts, 3.3 rebs, 1.3 stls, 3.1 threes, 49% from 2, 42.6% from 3 in 54 gms) and emerging center Ivica Zubac (16.5 pts, 12.6 rebs, 1.2 blks, 62.1% from 2 in 73 gms) made the Clippers a pretty good team.

The trio of James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac carried Los Angeles to a 19-15 record without Kawhi Leonard. The 35-year-old Harden has turned back the clock this season and is resembling the All-NBA performer he was for most of his illustrious 16-year NBA career. The 31-year-old Powell leads the Clippers in scoring and is registering the highest points per game average of his 10-year NBA career. The 27-year-old Zubac is producing a career-year across every category in his 9th NBA season. 

After missing the first 34 games of the season, Kawhi Leonard made his return on Jan. 4 in a win against the Atlanta Hawks. The 33-year-old, six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA Finals MVP Leonard was rusty initially, but is now resembling the elite two-way player he’s been for most of his career of late. On the season, Leonard is averaging 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.5 steals and 2 threes per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor and 39.2 percent from long distance across 31 games. 

Kawhi Leonard has scored 20 or more points in nine straight games and is averaging 26.5 points, 8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game over his last 8 contests. The Clippers are 8-2 in their last 10 games that Leonard has played in. They are currently 8th in the loaded Western Conference but are just one game behind Golden State for the 5th seed. If Los Angeles can finish in the top 6 and avoid the Play-In round, they have the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs with a healthy Kawhi Leonard, along with the magnificent play of Harden, Powell and Zubac.  

THE PICK: CLIPPERS (-17.5)

The Clippers are playing their best basketball of the season with a healthy Kawhi Leonard while the Pelicans waived the white flag on the season as they’ve shelved their best four players for the rest of the year. The Clippers should win this one with ease. Lay the big number and take the Clippers tonight.