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Warriors aim for 11th straight win Thursday vs. Pelicans
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 12/4/2014  at  3:41:00 AM
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NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (8-8)

at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (15-2)

Tip-off: Tuesday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Golden State -8, Total: 205.5

The Warriors look to grab their 11th consecutive victory when they host Anthony Davis and the Pelicans on Tuesday night.

New Orleans has looked much improved this season but comes into this one having lost four of its past six contests (3-3 ATS). The Pelicans have not shot well over this stretch with a 41.5% FG clip (27.8% threes) leading to a mere 95.8 PPG. New Orleans was able to get a nice win at home on Tuesday though as it defeated the Thunder by a score of 112-104 as a 3.5-point underdog, as both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were playing for Oklahoma City in the game. The Pelicans shot 44.3% from the field while benefiting from 16 offensive rebounds and 17 forced turnovers. Golden State is making a case at being the team to beat in the Western Conference and brings a strong 10-game winning streak (6-4 ATS) into this one. The club has scored more than 100 points in all but two of those contests and won each of its five games on an extended road trip. The Warriors had a close call when they got back home and took on the Jazz with a 98-97 win as 14.5-point favorites at home. The team shot 46.3% from the field in the contest and forced 15 turnovers that resulted in 18 points. Golden State won each of the three meetings between these teams last season (SU and ATS) while winning by an average of 7.7 PPG. New Orleans’ offense performed horribly over the past two contests, shooting worse than 39% each time and making a total of just seven threes. Dating back two seasons, the Warriors have won the past seven games between these clubs while going a solid 6-1 ATS. Some trends that bettors should keep an eye on include that Golden State is a mere 12-25 ATS (32%) in home games after failing to cover two of its previous three games ATS in the past three seasons while the Pelicans are a meager 6-17 ATS (26%) in a road game where the total is 200 to 209.5 in the past two seasons. As far as injuries are concerned, SG Eric Gordon (shoulder) remains out indefinitely for New Orleans while Golden State PF David Lee (hamstring) will be out for at least another week.

Can the Pelicans keep the score close versus the red-hot Warriors? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a 62% ATS record (53-33) in featured games this season. StatFox Gary has a 58% ATS record (15-11) in NBA Best Bets this season, while StatFox Brian is 5-1 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Nov. 23.

The Pelicans have been a middle-of-the-road offensive team that scores 101.2 PPG (14th in league) on 44.9% shooting (20th in NBA) and have put up over 100 points just three times in their past eight games. The defense has been average, as it is giving up 99.1 PPG (12th in NBA) while allowing 45.9% FG (20th in league), but has forced 17+ turnovers in three of the past four contests. PF Anthony Davis (24.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG) has been an unstoppable force this season, especially on defense where he leads the NBA in blocks (3.1 BPG) and ranks second in steals (2.3 SPG). Davis was a monster in Tuesday’s win with 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and six steals. Over his six career games against the Warriors, Davis has averaged 17.0 PPG (57% FG), 12.0 RPG, 1.7 BPG and 1.3 SPG. SF Tyreke Evans (15.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.9 APG, 1.3 SPG) fills the stat sheet every night despite shooting a poor 41% from the floor, and is coming off a season-high 30-point performance against Oklahoma City. In his time against Golden State (16 games, 14 starts) he has scored 17.6 PPG (41% FG) while adding 5.1 APG, 4.6 RPG and 1.6 SPG. Both PF Ryan Anderson (15.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG) and PG Jrue Holiday (15.5 PPG, 6.4 APG) give the team different looks, and they each posted a double-double in the last contest.

Golden State has an elite offense that has tallied 106.5 PPG (3rd in NBA) while making a league-leading 48.5% FG, and has the third-best mark from behind the arc (37.9% threes). The big turnaround for the Warriors this season is the defense that has given up just 96.5 PPG (7th in league) on an NBA-low 41.0% shooting. They have allowed more than 100 points just twice during the current 10-game win streak, holding opponents to 95.9 PPG on 40.4% shooting. PG Stephen Curry (23.7 PPG, 7.6 APG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG) has hit a mere 5-of-22 threes (23%) over the past three games while getting just two steals in his past four contests. He should be able to bounce back against the Pelicans, as he has averaged 19.5 PPG (47% FG), 6.9 APG and 2.2 SPG while hitting 30-of-72 (42%) from behind the arc in 13 starts. SG Klay Thompson (20.9 PPG, 45% threes) has hit 12 of his past 24 tries from long range and filled up the stat sheet in the win over Orlando on Tuesday with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. He shot poorly against New Orleans over three games last season, netting 15.3 PPG on 37% FG to go with 5.0 APG. Both SFs Draymond Green (12.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG) and Harrison Barnes (11.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG) give the team depth at their position, while PF Marreese Speights (12.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG) has been one of the most explosive bench players in the league this season.


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