New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 4/2/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: Rip City Television Network

The Portland Trail Blazers (39-38) will take on the New Orleans Pelicans (25-51) at Moda Center on Thursday.

The Pelicans faced off with the Rockets and took a loss by a final of 134-102 in their last game. New Orleans wrapped up the contest having earned a 43.0% field goal percentage (37 out of 86) and knocked down 9 of 29 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Pelicans made 19 of 28 attempts for a rate of 67.9%. In terms of getting rebounds, they compiled 41 with 15 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 19 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Concerning the defense, New Orleans allowed 46.7% from the floor on 49 of 105 shooting. Houston earned 21 dimes and had 10 steals for this contest. Moreover, Houston snagged 39 rebounds (12 offensive, 27 defensive) and earned 3 blocks. Houston ended up shooting 85.7% from the charity stripe by converting 18 of 21 shots. They buried 18 of 44 attempts from beyond the arc. In relation to fouls, the Pelicans walked away with 25 while the Rockets accumulated 22 fouls.

Dejounte Murray is someone who was a contributor for this contest. Murray finished shooting 57.1% from the floor and also dished out 6 dimes. He saw the court for 28 minutes played and also snagged 4 rebounds. He scored 19 points on 8 out of 14 shooting.

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New Orleans comes into this game with a mark of 25-51 so far this season. They are averaging 115.1 pts per contest (17th in the NBA) while going 46.5% from the floor. The Pelicans are hitting 34.7% on 3-point shots (853 of 2,460) and 78.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, New Orleans is pulling down 43.8 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 1,917 assists this season, which ranks 22nd in the league in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 14.2 times per contest and as a unit they commit 19.8 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Pelicans are forcing their opponents into 14.5 turnovers every game while drawing 20.2 fouls. They currently rank 25th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 2,119 conceded for the season. The Pelicans defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 47.6% (3,311 of 6,955) and they concede 45.7 boards per contest as a unit. They are relinquishing 35.0% on three-point shots and they rank 25th in basketball in opponents PPG (119.5).

The last time they took the court, the Trail Blazers got the victory with a final of 114-104 when they faced the Clippers. The Trail Blazers pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards totaling 35 in the game. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while recording 13 steals in the game. The Clippers committed 22 fouls for the game which got the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for 18 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throws for a rate of 94.4%. In the matter of shots from beyond the perimeter, Portland converted 15 of 45 attempts (33.3%). Overall, the Trail Blazers went 41 for 91 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.1%. The Trail Blazers permitted the Clippers to convert 38 of their 76 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.0% in the game. They finished shooting 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 10 of 30 and ended up shooting 18 out of 23 at the charity stripe (78.3%). When talking about how they attacked the glass, Portland permitted Los Angeles to grab 34 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Jrue Holiday pitched in for the Trail Blazers for this game. He made 10 out of 21 for the game for a field goal rate of 47.6%, and earned 6 rebounds. Holiday totaled 30 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 2 assists for the game.

Portland has a win-loss record of 39-38 on the campaign. As an offense, the Trail Blazers are shooting 45.3% from the field, which is 29th in the league. Portland has tallied 8,880 points so far this season (115.3 per game) and they pull down 46.1 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 25.1 times per contest (25th in the league) and they are giving up possession 17.4 times per game. The Trail Blazers have committed 20.0 fouls per game and they hit 76.4% from the charity stripe.

The Trail Blazers are ranked 17th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 116.0. They are forcing their opponents into 15.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.0% from the field (15th in basketball). The Portland defense gives up 35.9% on shots from distance (975 of 2,718) and their opposition makes 78.8% of their foul shots. They have conceded 26.4 dimes and 42.9 boards per contest, ranking them 13th and 10th in basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take New Orleans

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