Memphis Grizzlies vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/27/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Memphis Grizzlies vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, December 27, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans (5-25) will play the Memphis Grizzlies (20-9) at Smoothie King Center on Friday.

The Grizzlies stepped onto the hardwood against the Hawks and went home with a win by a final score of 128-112 in their last contest. Memphis finished the contest having earned a 51.5% FG percentage (50 out of 97) and buried 18 of their 41 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Grizzlies knocked down 10 of their 13 attempts for a percentage of 76.9%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they earned a total of 40 with 8 of them being offensive. They also distributed 35 dimes for the contest while forcing 25 turnovers and having 13 steals. In regard to defense, Memphis let their opponent shoot 48.8% from the field on 39 out of 80 shooting. Atlanta doled out 29 assists and had 11 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Atlanta had 41 boards (6 offensive, 35 defensive) and had 1 block. Atlanta ended up going 83.3% from the free throw line by converting 20 of their 24 attempts. They buried 14 of 38 attempts from distance. With respect to fouls, the Grizzlies ended up with 22 while the Hawks finished the game with 14 fouls.

Desmond Bane is a player who was a major factor for the contest. Bane finished 58.3% from the field and totaled 8 dimes. He played for 27 mins played and totaled 5 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

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Memphis enters this contest with a record of 20-9 for the season. They are losing possession via turnover 17.0 times per game and as a group are committing 21.7 personal fouls every game. As a team, Memphis is pulling down 47.9 boards per contest and has accumulated 888 assists this year, which is 1st in basketball in terms of passing the rock. The Grizzlies are shooting 37.0% on 3-point shots (402 of 1,087) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 123.1 pts per game (1st in the NBA) while hitting 48.9% from the floor.

Defensively, the Grizzlies are forcing 16.8 turnovers per game and they draw 21.2 personal fouls. They concede 33.4% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 15th in the league in points per game from their opponents (112.9). The Grizzlies defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.9% (1,163 of 2,652) and they concede 43.7 rebounds per contest as a squad. They currently rank 9th in basketball in giving up assists with 710 conceded so far this year.

For their last game, the Pelicans took a loss by a final score of 132-129 against the Nuggets. The Pelicans were able to snag 34 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 for the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while getting 16 steals for this game. The Nuggets were called for 19 personal fouls for the contest which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 23 attempts. They were able to make 17 of them for a percentage of 73.9%. Pertaining to three-point shots, New Orleans converted 12 of 40 attempts (30.0%). When all was said and done, the Pelicans shot 50 for 108 from the floor which had them shooting 46.3%. The Pelicans allowed the Nuggets to knock down 49 of their 97 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.5% in this game. They shot 30.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 10 of 33 and finished the contest at 24 out of 32 from the free throw line (75.0%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, New Orleans allowed Denver to snag 54 in all (14 on the offensive glass).

Jordan Hawkins ended up being important for the Pelicans for the game. Hawkins tallied 25 points in his 34 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist for the matchup. He made 9 of 18 for the contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 1 rebound.

New Orleans has a mark of 5-25 for the year. As an offense, the Pelicans are hitting on 43.7% from the field, which is ranked 29th in the league. New Orleans has totaled 3,172 pts on the campaign (105.7 per game) and they snag 43.1 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 24.0 times per contest (25th in the NBA) and they turn it over 15.2 times per contest. The Pelicans commit 18.4 fouls per game while shooting 75.7% from the free throw line.

The Pelicans on defense are ranked 25th in the NBA in points given up per game with 117.2. They have forced 14.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.6% from the field (29th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense gives up 37.1% on shots from distance (426 of 1,147) and their opponents are connecting on 79.2% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 28.8 assists and 45.7 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 28th and 26th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Memphis

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