New Orleans Pelicans 2022-23 Season Preview and Best Bet (Odds, Offseason Moves and More)
New Orleans has a basketball team it can be proud of again, and expectations are back up this season. Zion Williamson’s return to the court is the No. 1 topic surrounding the Pelicans, as his presence gives New Orleans the star power it was missing last season.
The Pelicans did a good job retaining a lot of the talent it had last season, with a majority of the starting lineup still in place. C.J. McCollum also gets a full offseason to train with his teammates, furthering their chemistry.
Things have the potential to go extremely well for the Pelicans this year. Can they put all the pieces together?
New Orleans Pelicans Offseason Moves and Additions
Key Pelicans Roster Additions:
- Dyson Daniels (Draft)
- Karlo Matkovic (Draft)
- Zion Williamson (Return from injury)
New Orleans Pelicans Odds to Win NBA Championship, Make Playoffs and Win Total
- Odds to Win NBA Finals: +5000
- Odds to Win Western Conference: +2400
- Make Playoffs: -205
- Win Total: 43.5 (Over -142/Under +116)
New Orleans Pelicans Best Bet for 2022-23 NBA Season
The Pelicans are set to be one of the best league pass teams in the league. They are coming off the No. 8 seed, pushing the Suns to six and are now adding Zion Williamson to their roster. New Orleans is getting an efficient 27 PPG scorer infused into its lineup, raising the star power and ceiling for their season.
At 43.5 wins, the Pelicans’ win total is asking for a big jump from the team. They won 36 games last season, so they’d have to improve by eight games. Even with the roster staying mostly the same, improving by nearly 10 games is hard.
However, Zion’s presence is just that great. If he, Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum can figure out how to coexist properly, New Orleans could potentially be out of the play-in tournament.
This is a team with a lot of optimism, and I'm a buyer.