Early on in the season, it looked as if the Golden State Warriors were in trouble, as they started off 0-3, but thanks to first-round rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and an MVP-level stretch from Stephen Curry, the Warriors have rattled off seven straight wins to rocket up the Western Conference standings.
Golden State will have a chance to make that eight tonight as it hosts the shorthanded New Orleans Pelicans at 10 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on NBA TV.
For the Pelicans, Malik Dia (G-League), Yves Missi (knee), Trey Murphy III (knee), Jaron Pierre Jr. (G-League), Trendon Watford (ankle), and Zion Williamson (rest) are all out. In addition the Warriors’ long-term absences — Jimmy Butler III (ACL), Moses Moody (patellar tendon), and Kristaps Porziņġis (not with team) — Will Richard (thumb) is out. Gary Payton II (knee) is questionable, and Gui Santos (knee) is probable.
Golden State is an 11.5-point favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook (-569 on the Moneyline), with the point total set to 229.5. New Orleans is +426 on the Moneyline.
Below, I’ll break down my favorite prop bets from tonight’s matchup, choosing one player from each team.
Pelicans vs. Warriors Player Prop Bets
Dejounte Murray 2+ Steals (-118)
Murray has been pretty solid this season after playing a combined 45 games between the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons due to a torn Achilles. Although he’s played in only seven of the Pelicans’ 10 games, he’s had at least two steals in four of them, and he’s averaging the third-most steals per game of his career. Given that he once led the league in steals, during his lone All-Star campaign, that’s not insignificant. He will likely have to play heavy minutes tonight with two of New Orleans’ other starters (Murphy and Williamson) out.
Meanwhile, even during their winning streak, the Warriors have been fairly turnover-prone. In the last seven games, they’ve allowed 10.0 steals per game, the second-most of any team. Turnovers have been one of Lendeborg’s few vices, as he ranks 10th league-wide in total turnovers despite his relatively limited ball-handling responsibility. Murray might spend most of his time on Curry, given that he’s the Pelicans’ best active perimeter defender, but his defensive assignments have ranged widely, from Keyonte George to even Nikola Jokić. I expect him to force mistakes from Lendeborg on the possessions in which the two match up.
Stephen Curry 5+ Three-Pointers Made (+100)
Could it be anything else? After a slow first few games of the season, Curry has turned back the clock, draining at least five three-pointers in each of his last five games while averaging 35.8 points per game on 49-46-98 shooting splits across that span. He trails only Luka Dončić by field goal percentage over expectation, hitting his triples at a rate 11.5 percentage points higher than expected. He’s shot 43.8% on threes after at least seven dribbles and 54.8% of his catch-and-shoot looks. It hardly matters how good the defense is; Curry is simply unguardable.
Unfortunately for New Orleans, its perimeter defense isn’t very good. This season, the Pelicans have conceded the 11th-most wide-open threes per game, and that issue might get even worse without Murphy, who had been an above-average defender in each of the prior three seasons before taking a step back at the start of 2026/27. Curry has nailed more than 55% of his wide-open triples this season. New Orleans has also given up the 11th-most catch-and-shoot treys and has gotten quite fortunate that opponents have nailed them at just a 32.9% clip, which it can’t bank on against Curry.
