The New Orleans Pelicans (25-17, 8-12 Away), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, travel to face the Detroit Pistons (12-33, 6-14 Home) on Friday. New Orleans was defeated by the Boston Celtics 125-114 at TD Garden on Wednesday.
CJ McCollum led the way in the losing effort with 38 points. The Pelicans are 2.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference, currently sitting in third. Detroit got the win on Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 135-118. Saddiq Bey recorded 31 points to top the scoresheet.
With 27 points, Bojan Bogdanovic also produced a strong performance. The Pistons are the 15th seed in the Eastern Conference. This is the final meeting of the season between the teams. New Orleans will be seeking a season sweep against Detroit after winning the only previous meeting 104-98 at Smoothie King Center in December 2022, their fourth straight head-to-head victory.
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Bey had 25 points in the losing effort. McCollum is averaging 21.3 points per game to lead the Pels in scoring this season. McCollum also has dished 5.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Jonas Valanciunas is grabbing 9.5 rebounds.
Bogdanovic has been the primary provider of the Pistons’ offense, averaging 21.2 points per game. Jalen Duren is pulling down 8.5 rebounds per game, and Killian Hayes is tallying 5.6 assists. With 117.4 points per game, the Pelicans are one of the top scoring offenses in the league (3rd).
The Pelicans are 4-1 in five visits to Little Caesars Arena. New Orleans is 5-5 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +1.2 (115.5-114.3). Detroit has gone 4-6 over the last 10, allowing 124.2 points per game on average while scoring only 118.5 (-5.7 margin). The Pistons are averaging 112.4 ppg for the full season while allowing 119.6.
PELICANS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Naji Marshall: 28.6 | 16.3 | +12.4
Larry Nance Jr.: 8.7 | 15.3 | -6.6
Points per game:
CJ McCollum: 32.0 | 21.3 | +10.7
Assists per game:
Jose Alvarado: 4.4 | 3.1 | +1.3
CJ McCollum: 4.3 | 5.8 | -1.5
PISTONS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Killian Hayes: 26.0 | 18.4 | +7.6
Assists per game:
Killian Hayes: 8.2 | 5.6 | +2.6
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
NO Pelicans -5.5 (-115)
Want up to a $1K risk free bet for this pick?
Claim with 
today!
If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our NBA hub page for all your basketball needs!
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
