Free NBA Picks Today: New Orleans Pelicans vs Minnesota Timberwolves 12/28/22

The New Orleans Pelicans (21-12, 14-4 Home), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves (16-18, 7-10 Away) on Wednesday. Minnesota was edged out by the Miami Heat 113-110 at FTX Arena on Monday, their third loss in a row.

Anthony Edwards was the key player in the loss with 29 points and seven assists. The Timberwolves are the 10th seed in the Western Conference. New Orleans won their third in a row in impressive fashion on Monday at Smoothie King Center, beating the Indiana Pacers 113-93.

Naji Marshall had 22 points to lead the team in scoring. With 20 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists, Jonas Valanciunas also played a part. The Pelicans are the third seed in the Western Conference, 0.5 games behind the Denver Nuggets.

The teams are meeting for the first time this season. Minnesota and New Orleans split their matchups last season, winning two apiece. The Pelicans took the last meeting 128-125 at Smoothie King Center on January 11. Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 33 points and nine assists.

Edwards had 28 points in defeat. The T’Wolves have been led this season by Edwards, who is averaging 23.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert is grabbing 12.1 rebounds per game, second-most in the NBA, and D’Angelo Russell is dishing 6.6 assists.

Zion Williamson (25.2 ppg) has been the primary provider of the Pels’ offense. Valanciunas is pulling down 9.4 rebounds per game, and CJ McCollum is tallying 6.1 assists. With 117.8 points per game, the Pelicans are one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NBA (3rd).

The teams have split their last 10 clashes at Smoothie King Center (5-5).In the last 10 games, Minnesota is 4-6 with an average margin of -1.2 (113.2-114.4). New Orleans has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 119.0 points per game on average while allowing 117.3 (+1.7 margin).

TIMBERWOLVES HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Austin Rivers: 18.4 | 8.3 | +10.1
Kyle Anderson: 7.0 | 14.9 | -7.9
Points per game:
Jaden McDaniels: 14.2 | 11.3 | +2.9
Rebounds per game:
Naz Reid: 7.0 | 4.6 | +2.4
Assists per game:
Anthony Edwards: 7.2 | 4.5 | +2.7

PELICANS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
CJ McCollum: 41.6 | 30.6 | +11.0
Larry Nance Jr.: 8.0 | 16.5 | -8.5
Points per game:
CJ McCollum: 26.8 | 19.3 | +7.5
Rebounds per game:
Zion Williamson: 5.0 | 7.2 | -2.2
Assists per game:
Zion Williamson: 8.0 | 4.7 | +3.3