basketball | Friday, December 30, 2022 1:27 PM

New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Best Bet: Pelicans Close Out Strong

Milan Stanojic

New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Best Bet: Friday, December 30th

My final bet of 2022 will feature the New Orleans Pelicans welcoming the Phialdlephia 76ers at Smoothie King Center. The 76ers have dominated this match-up in recent years, but the tables have turned and this will be the first time facing this Pelicans squad.

I’ll be updating my profit stats for December early next week on Twitter so look out for that too. In the meantime, take a look at my best bet for tonight in the article below!

In this article:

New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Preview
New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Best Bet

New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Preview

Sat, Dec 31st 01:30 (UK time)

A lot of us expected the New Orleans Pelicans to make some progress this year, surely but no one expected them to be sitting atop the Western Conference at the end of the year. Their latest 4-game winning streak has propelled them past the Denver Nuggets and they are now leading the pack with 22 wins and 12 losses. Their winning percentage is significantly higher compared to last season, and even though it’s still early, we can say that head coach Willie Green is doing an excellent job so far. They are coming off a close 119-118 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and this will be the final of their 3-game homestand.

The Pelicans have been one of the most consistent teams so far this year, and despite some injury issues with Zion and BI continue to win. Ingram is still out with a toe injury, joined by Larry Nance Jr, E.J. Liddell and potentially Herbert Jones. They have struggled to get into a rhythm on the road this year, but their play at Smoothie King Center has been phenomenal. They have a home record of 15 -4, an ATS record of 11-8 and their net rating increases from 1.7 on the road to 8.2 at home. Their latest 4-game winning streak without Ingram has proven that they are here to stay, and not just a one-hit-wonder.

The Philadelphia 76ers had much higher expectations coming into this season than 5th in the east, but with 20 wins and 12 losses, they are nowhere near the top. They have won 8 of their last 10 games but are coming off an unexpected 116-111 loss to the Washington Wizards. Much like their opponents tonight, the 76ers have been incredible at home with a record of 14-5. However, they have won only 6 of their 16 road games with the exact same record ATS. The good news is their only player on the injury report is Tyrese Maxey and he is listed as ‘day to day’.

The 76ers are one of the slowest teams in the league with a pace rating of 97.2 and are 29th in field goal attempts. Their offence hasn’t functioned as well as one would expect with Embiid and Harden playing together. Their net rating drops more than 7 points when they leave Wells Fargo Center, which is why they have only covered the spread in 1 of their last away games. The 76ers don’t score a lot, averaging 111.7 points per game but they also don’t allow a lot of points, keeping opponents to 108.0 per game with a 32.9% field goal percentage from beyond the arc.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Philadelphia 76ers Best Bet

The Pelicans have lost 7 of their last 10 meetings against the Philadelphia 76ers and I’d say it’s payback time! Their final game of 2022 in front of their own fans on the crest of a 4-game winning streak! The Pelicans have proven they mean business and even without Brandon Ingram, they have enough to take down the 76ers. They are faster, better at rebounding, average more points, and most importantly – they have been tearing it up in this arena. I’m backing them to get the job done.