San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans 03/21/2023 Picks & Preview

A key injury to note in this game is the likely absence of the Spurs 2nd leading scorer, Tre Jones.

Injuries:

  • Spurs

    • C Charles Bassey (knee) out

    • C Khem Birch (knee) out

    • F Zach Collins (rest) out

    • G Devonte’ Graham (quad) questionable

    • G Tre Jones (hamstring) doubtful

    • F Doug McDermott (hip) probable

    • F Jeremy Sochan (knee) out

    • G Devin Vassell (knee) out

  • Pelicans

    • G Jose Alvarado (shin) out

    • F E.J. Liddell (knee) out

    • F Zion Williamson (hamstring) out

  • The Spurs are 8-22 ATS in their last 30 road games, 7-20 ATS in their last 27 games against a team with a losing record and 7-18 ATS in their last 25 games overall
  • The Pelicans are 19-7-1 ATS in their last 27 games against a team below
  • The under is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings overall, the Spurs are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall and the Spurs are 7-1 ATS in the last eight meetings in New Orleans

San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans collide at Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night.

The Spurs remain in need of Jeremy Sochan, Zach Collins, and Devin Vassell, and the Pelicans still lack Jose Alvarado and Zion Williamson.

The Spurs are going to need a more forceful defensive effort against the Pelicans, which is only 23rd in points allowed. If the San Antonio offense is to change the course, not only must they improve the outside shooting, but they also must do better at protecting the ball. The Spurs deliberately lose here, and now half of their roster is on the injured list.

The Pelicans were really a burden before beating the Rockets, but still have more firepower than the Spurs even with their best player out. If New Orleans continues to have difficulty sticking to their outside ball, they may want to start to play with more speed, because they are currently sitting at 15th in the league in possessions per game.

This is difficult to choose, but the Spurs are 7-1 ATS in their last eight meetings in New Orleans, and this trend looks to continue, as those pesky Spurs stick around until the very end to claim possession.