What a difference a player makes. For the first time in his controversial career, Zion Williamson has been able to answer the bell for most of the season. Williamson, the top pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. Previously, he bordered on being one of the biggest draft busts ever. But Williamson has been the key NBA future odds asset in making the New Orleans Pelicans a potential contender. With Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, and Jonas Valanciunas helping Williamson, bargain hunters see a dark horse. Additionally, New Orleans made gamblers happy with reliable value this year.
New Orleans Pelicans 2024 NBA Championship Future Odds
| 2024 New Orleans Pelicans NBA Championship Odds: | +6000 |
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New Orleans Pelicans Team Overview
The New Orleans Pelicans are 49-33 straight up, 43-37-2 against the spread, and 36-45-1 over/under the sportsbook total. Late on, New Orleans has covered three out of their last five games. At the same time, the Pelicans have gone over the total in two of its previous five matchups. New Orleans is 7th in the Western Conference playoff standings. New Orleans is eight games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference playoff race.
Overall, New Orleans has NBA metrics of 13th for scoring offense, 9th for field goal percentage, 4th for 3-point field goal percentage, 21st for free throw percentage, and 13th for offensive rebounding. Meanwhile, on defense, the Pelicans have NBA metrics of 8th for scoring defense, 7th for field goal percentage permitted, 2nd for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 8th for defensive rebounding.
New Orleans qualified for the play-in round. The Pelicans will host the Los Angeles Lakes on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Specifically, the tipoff time is 7:30 p.m. ET, with television coverage on TNT.
New Orleans Pelicans Key Players and Coach
Head coach Willie Green is a former journeyman NBA player who played in New Orleans from 2010-2011. He has been head coach of the Pels since 2021-22. In sum, he has a career NBA playoff odds record of 127-119 in the regular season and 2-4 in the playoffs.
SF Brandon Ingram averages 20.8 points and 5.7 assists per game. Ingram has averaged 20 points or more per game in the past five seasons. Previously, he was a 2020 NBA All-Star.
PF Zion Williamson leads the Pelicans with 22.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest. In turn, his career average is 24.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Williamson is in the playoffs for the first time in his career. Williamson is a 2-time NBA All-Star. He was the first player taken in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Duke. Williamson has had an injury-plagued career but made 70 starts this year.
New Orleans Pelicans Team History
Accordingly, the New Orleans Pelicans are one of the newest teams in the NBA. The league granted former owner George Shinn an expansion franchise. Hence, he transferred over to the Charlotte Hornets to play in the Big Easy. They were known as the Hornets from 2002 to 2013 when they changed their name to the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 2007-08 Hornets went 56-26, beating the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Namely, Chris Paul, David West, and Peja Stojakovic were the stars of that team. And they took the San Antonio Spurs to seven games before falling. Correlate that New Orleans would not win a playoff series for another decade. The Pelicans swept the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.