Free NBA Picks Today: Toronto Raptors vs New Orleans Pelicans 2/23/23

The Toronto Raptors (28-31, 18-13 Home) welcome the New Orleans Pelicans (30-29, 10-19 Away) Thursday at Scotiabank Arena. New Orleans was dominated by the Los Angeles Lakers 120-102 at Crypto.com Arena on February 15. Brandon Ingram was the scoring leader in the losing effort with 25 points.

CJ McCollum added 22 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. The Pelicans are the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Toronto triumphed on February 14 at Scotiabank Arena, beating the Orlando Magic 123-113. Jakob Poeltl had 30 points, nine rebounds, and six blocks, carrying the team.

The Raptors are ninth in the Eastern Conference.It’s the final meeting of the season between the teams. After taking the only prior season game against Toronto 126-108 at Smoothie King Center in November 2022, New Orleans will be pursuing a season sweep. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. Gary Trent Jr. had 35 points in the losing effort.

The Pels have been led this season by McCollum, who is averaging 21.1 points per game. McCollum also has dished 5.9 assists per game.

Meanwhile, Jonas Valanciunas is grabbing 9.7 rebounds. Pascal Siakam’s 25.2 points per game have powered the Raptors on offense. Siakam also has pulled down 7.8 rebounds per game.

Fred VanVleet has tallied 6.6 assists per game. The Pelicans have struggled in recent games at Scotiabank Arena, losing eight of the last 10.New Orleans is 4-6 in the last 10 games with an average margin of -2.9 (112.7-115.6). Toronto has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 116.7 points per game on average while allowing 114.4 (+2.3 margin).

PELICANS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Brandon Ingram: 28.5 | 22.4 | +6.1
Rebounds per game:
Willy Hernangomez: 13.5 | 5.0 | +8.5