Celtics vs Pelicans Picks and Predictions: Jayson Terrorizes on Friday the 18th

The Boston Celtics will face another tough road test to their winning streak on Friday night when they head to NOLA for an interconference matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Celtics have won eight consecutive games, and at 12-3 on the year, find themselves atop the NBA standings. On the other hand, the Pelicans are on a three-game winning streak and are now 9-6 on the season. Which winning streak will hold form tonight in New Orleans?

Read our NBA picks and predictions for Celtics vs. Pelicans on November 18 below to find out.

Celtics vs Pelicans best odds

Celtics vs Pelicans picks and predictions

The Celtics added to their already league-best point-per-game total on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, when they scored 126 points to increase their season average to 120.4 points. They also made 21 3-pointers and shot 45.7% from downtown despite facing one of the best stingiest long-range defenses in the league.

The Pelicans are also excellent against the three, as they rank second in the league allowing only 32.5% from downtown. However, they may be without one of their better defenders tonight in Zion Williamson, who is questionable with a foot injury. The onus will be on Herb Jones and Brandon Ingram to stop Jayson Tatum.

This is an extremely tough task for anyone right now, as Tatum is averaging 31.1 points per game to go along with 7.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest. Since the last game against the Hawks was a blowout, Tatum was not needed to be the big scoring threat and he only finished 19 points. However, he still managed to record seven rebounds and eight assists.

Marcus Smart is questionable tonight with an ankle injury, so Tatum may be used as a distributor more tonight to go along with his scoring prowess. The Pelicans allow 25.5 assists per game to their opponents, and without Smart’s 7.1 assists per game, more playmaking opportunities will fall his way. 

Tatum will be counted on heavily on offense tonight, and will have ample opportunity to stuff the box score. I really like his Over on the PRA number. 

My best bet: Jayson Tatum Over 40.5 points + rebounds + assists (-105)

Celtics vs Pelicans spread analysis

The Celtics will once again find themselves as road favorites after they smoked the spread by a 24-point margin in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Despite covering their last two road games, they are only 4-4 against the spread this year on the road. All of which were as favorites.

In fact, every single game the Celtics have played this season has been as a favorite. So, really, it should not come as too big a surprise that they remain favorites tonight in New Orleans. This is the first game that the Pelicans have played as underdogs since their road trip to Atlanta on November 5, where they lost in overtime.

Both teams are 8-7 ATS on the season, but some recent trends will favor the Celtics. They’re 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 road games against an opponent with a winning home record. Meanwhile, the Pelicans are 1-6 ATS in their last seven home games against a team with a winning road record.

If Zion Williamson can be a full go tonight then, my opinion may change on this, but for now, I like the Celtics. The spread is low enough where basically a win will cover. The Celtics are red-hot, and I do not think tonight will change with Tatum and Jaylen Brown able to feast.

Celtics vs Pelicans Over/Under analysis

Surprisingly, this total is lower than the number from Wednesday night’s game against the Hawks for the Celtics despite the Pelicans ranking fifth in the league in scoring. The Pelicans’ games are 9-6 in favor of the Over this year, and the Celtics’ games are 9-5-1.

However, the Under has hit in four of the last five Pelicans games. They have really stepped up their defense, allowing 111 points or less in five consecutive contests. The Under is 4-1-1 in the last six Celtics games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game, so they typically will get too high of a total the next time out.

I really like the Celtics to be able to put up some points tonight, so it’s hard for me to really push taking the Under here. However, logically it is very likely that the game script will lean towards the Under, especially if there’s no Zion tonight. Give me the Under, but not with a ton of confidence.

Celtics vs Pelicans betting trend to know

The Under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings between these two teams in New Orleans. Find more NBA betting trends for Celtics vs. Pelicans.

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