play now
fantasy baseball
play now
Football Pick’em
Buy or sell second half shows
Covering the impact of the coronavirus on the sports world
The New Orleans Pelicans have enjoyed the comforts of home for their last six games, but now they have to hit the road. They will face the Phoenix Suns at 9 p.m. ET on Friday at the Footprint Center after having had a few days off. New Orleans haven’t won a game against Phoenix since Feb. 3 of last year, but they will be looking to end the drought.
The Pelicans came up short against the Dallas Mavericks last Thursday, losing 125-118. New Orleans was down 105-81 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too hard to recover from. A silver lining for them was the play of shooting guard CJ McCollum, who shot 7 for 10 from beyond the arc and finished with 38 points and five assists.
Meanwhile, everything went well for Phoenix against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday as they picked up a 124-104 victory. The score was tight at halftime, but Phoenix retired in the second half with 76 points. Their shooter Devin Booker did his thing and dropped a double-double on 25 runs and 12 dimes in addition to six interceptions. It’s been three straight games in which Booker has had at least three interceptions.
The Pelicans are expected to lose this next by 6.5. They’ve failed bettors playing the spread in their last two games, so buyers beware.
New Orleans is now 23-36 while the Suns are 49-10. A pair of offensive numbers to keep in mind before tipping: New Orleans stumbles in the competition with the fifth-fewest points per game in the league, having averaged just 106.3. Phoenix’s offense has more to brag about, as they come into the game averaging a league-best 113.8 points per game. The cards are therefore definitely stacked in their favor.
The Suns are a solid 6.5-point favorite against the Pelicans, according to the latest NBA odds.
Bettors were in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened with a 6.5 point spread and stayed there.
See NBA selections for every game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get choices now.
CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc.
