Warriors vs. Pelicans Prediction and Odds for Friday November 4 (Injured Warriors Have No Answer for Zion)
By Josh Yourish
The Golden State Warriors are struggling out of the gates in their title defense. They have lost four-straight and are 3-6 overall. They ride the struggle bus into New Orleans tonight to face Zion Williamson and the 4-3 New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans is coming off a loss to the lowly Lakers, but Brandon Ingram is returning from injury tonight and will certainly give the Pelicans a boost.
Will the Warriors find their way back into the win column tonight? Let’s take a look at what Vegas thinks and check out the odds.
Warriors vs. Pelicans Odds, Spread and Total
Warriors vs. Pelicans Prediction and Pick
Steph Curry is having an amazing season. He is leading the Warriors in points per game (31.0), assists (6.8), steals (1.2) and rebounds (6.8) Yes, the Golden State Warriors leading rebounder is their 6-foot-2 point guard. That is an impressive stat for Curry who is a much better rebounder and defender than he used to be, but is a massive concern for the Warriors who are 26th in the league in rebounds per game.
Tonight, however, Golden State won't have any of that production. Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson are all out tonight due to "injury management." That means that Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and James Wiseman will have to lead the charge for the Warriors.
The Warriors are resting Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins tonight in New Orleans. Fifth game of a five-game road trip. Second night of back-to-back. In danger of going 0-5.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 4, 2022
This is a team that has built a dynasty on playing small ball, but they were always stout inside with Draymond Green and more recently, Kevon Looney making it tough. Now, they are allowing opponents to shoot 67.4% at the rim, the fifth highest percentage in the league. Opponents are also shooting 58.9% on two point field goals when “tightly defended” which is the worst mark in the league.
The Warriors are an older, experienced team that can somewhat coast through a season and turn on the defense when it matters, but Zion Williamson is a monster inside and he will dominate them if they don’t come with playoff intensity tonight.
Pick: Pelicans -4 (-107)
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change