Denver Nuggets vs New Orleans Pelicans Point Spread Picks

Denver has more than its fair share of injuries to significant players, and the latest is Nikola Jokic (knee). The Nuggets are a hard team to play on right now, and they are just 6-7 over their last 13 games, getting outscored by 3.2 points per game during that span. Streaky New Orleans is certainly not the type of team that will bring out the Nuggets' "A" game. The Pelicans won five straight games, then lost nine straight before splitting their last two. I think Denver is a no-show here. Back New Orleans. 

New Orleans has gone OVER four of six overall and eight of 10 against the Northwest Division. The Pelicans are 6-3 OVER their past nine as underdogs, including the last two against Golden State and Oklahoma City. Denver soared OVER by 16 points in a 130-127 home loss to Chicago. The Nuggets have gone OVER four of five Wednesday road games, and they are averaging 125.0 points in their past eight games. New Orleans has allowed 123.3 points in its past six games. James Borrego took over as the Pelicans' head coach two games ago, but it hasn't helped yet on the defensive end. Take the OVER.

The New Orleans Pelicans are just one game from being the worst team in the NBA Western Conference at 12-38. The Pelicans have dropped six straight games, and the oddsmakers are starting to boost the lines to generate some action on them. The Pelicans have quietly made progress. They lost seven times by 11 or more points in November, and six times in December, but just four times in January. This team isn't getting blown out nearly as much as they were early in the year. The Nuggets have not been blowing out bad teams, and they have five straight up losses on the season to below .500 teams, and are just 8-11 ATS against them. Make the play on New Orleans.

New Orleans is 24th in the NBA in scoring. Zion Williamson (23.6 ppg) missed the last game with a stomach bug and has sat out 36 of 49 games this season. The Pelicans lost Dejounte Murray (17.5 ppg, 7.4 apg) in the last game with a leg injury. They've scored 104 and 92 points in their previous two road contests. Denver comes home from a five-game road trip after shutting down Charlotte in a 107-104 victory, and this total is too high. Take New Orleans/Denver UNDER the total.