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The New Orleans Pelicans have been the toughest team to get a handle on all season. They don’t have a winning streak and are 3-2 through five games. Brandon Ingram was tossed in the third quarter but had 20 points and 7 boards before the Pelicans ran away from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Toronto Raptors started the season off by losing to the same Pelicans by 14. The Raptors have since picked up a win — 100-83 over the New York Knicks. So maybe it was a turning point for the Raptors, who are normally a strong defensive team.
Let’s take a look at the spread and a player prop for Saturday’s game between the Raptors and Pelicans.
Toronto Raptors vs. New Orleans Pelicans, 7:30 p.m. ET NBATV
Pick ATS: Raptors -1.5
The Raptors picked up a good win over an actually OK Knicks team. Getting in the win column was big and the Pelicans can’t string together back-to-back wins. It’s an inconsistent pattern and at some point the Raptors are going to tighten things up on both ends. The Raptors haven’t been good against the spread at 1-3 but the Pels are 2-3 ATS. This is sort of a toss up, so I’ll go with the team I trust a little bit more with a few clutch players.
Player Prop: Zion Williamson O8.5 rebounds (-139)
This line is something you could use in a parlay to juice things up. Zion has gone for a double-double in three of five games this season, and last game against the Thunder he barely played because the game was out of hand at halftime. So Zion gets a bit more rest and gets to a great matchup against the Raptors, who allow 50 rebounds per game.
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