Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/2/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Friday, January 2, 2026

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The New Orleans Pelicans (8-25) welcome the Portland Trail Blazers (13-19) at Smoothie King Center on Friday.

The Trail Blazers played the Celtics and took home the win by a score of 114-108 in their last contest. Portland finished having earned a 47.2% FG percentage (42 out of 89) and converted 18 out of their 51 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Trail Blazers buried 12 of their 21 attempts for a percentage of 57.1%. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 48 with 16 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 26 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 20 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In regard to the defense, Portland let their opponent shoot 44.0% from the floor on 40 of 91 shooting. Boston recorded 19 assists and had 13 steals for the game. Additionally, Boston had 40 rebounds (12 offensive, 28 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Boston finished the game shooting 78.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 15 of 19 tries. They made 13 of their 44 attempts from 3-point land. With respect to personal fouls, the Trail Blazers finished with 19 while the Celtics recorded 23 personal fouls.

Shaedon Sharpe is one guy who came through for the game. He scored 26 points on 10 out of 20 shooting. He played for 32 minutes and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Sharpe finished the game at 50.0% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist.

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Portland comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 13-19 so far this season. They currently have an average of 116.6 points per game (15th in the league) while shooting 44.7% from the floor. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 33.4% on shots from 3-point land (440 of 1,319) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Portland is collecting 45.2 rebounds per game and has accounted for 789 dimes on the campaign, which is 22nd in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 17.3 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 22.4 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Trail Blazers are forcing their opponents into 15.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 23.8 fouls. They are giving up 36.1% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 25th in basketball in opponents points per game (120.1). The Trail Blazers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 47.6% (1,364 of 2,866) and they surrender 44.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They currently rank 19th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 853 surrendered on the year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 123-114 when they played the Suns. When talking about attacking the glass, New Orleans allowed Phoenix to collect 55 in total (22 on the offensive glass). They went 45.5% from 3-point land by going 20 of 44 and walked away from this one shooting 13 of 19 from the free throw line (68.4%). The Pelicans allowed the Suns to knock down 45 out of their 98 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.9% for this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Pelicans went 38 for 87 from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.7%. With respect to shots from beyond the arc, New Orleans converted 9 of their 27 tries (33.3%). They were able to knock down 29 of the free throw tries for a rate of 87.9%. The Suns had 23 fouls for this contest which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for 33 attempts. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while recording 11 steals for this game. The Pelicans collected 29 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 43 in the matchup.

Trey Murphy III was important for the Pelicans in the matchup. He converted 6 out of 12 for the game for a rate of 50.0%, and tallied 6 rebounds. Murphy tallied 24 points in his 37 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in the game.

New Orleans has a mark of 8-25 for the year. The Pelicans commit 20.6 fouls every game and they shoot 78.7% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 24.5 times per contest (27th in the NBA) and they cough up possession 14.5 times per game. New Orleans has accounted for 3,803 pts so far this year (115.2 per contest) and they collect 43.2 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Pelicans are hitting on 46.3% from the field, which is ranked 20th in the NBA.

The New Orleans defense gives up 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (488 of 1,376) and opponents are converting on 79.0% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 29.0 dimes and 45.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 28th and 24th in the NBA. The Pelicans are ranked 28th in the league in points given up per game with 122.6. They are forcing their opponents into 15.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 48.8% from the floor (28th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Portland

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