New Orleans Pelicans vs Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors are the reigning NBA champions. Need I say more?
In their Game 4 blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the Warriors proved what it means to be a championship-calibre team—a status which the Pels haven’t reach, yet.
Now, as they head to Game 5 of the West semi-finals at the Oracle Arena, the Dubs will look to continue what they started and finish the Pelicans for good in search of their fourth straight conference finals appearance.
Talking points
While most basketball betting tips took a conservative approach on the Warriors following their 19-point defeat in Game 3 at Smoothie King Center, Golden State more than just bounced back as they showed in the following match that there’s nothing to worry about.
The key to their turnaround? The legendary “Hamptons Five” that features the team’s best players.
Coach Steve Kerr opted to start a lineup of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green—a group which, interestingly, has never started a game together before. And as it turned out, the decision was a masterstroke as the Warriors rout the Pelicans to the tune of a 26-point blowout, 118-92.
New Orleans were never able to take the lead as the Hamptons Five—or should we call the final form of the Death Lineup—sparked the Warriors to a hot start en route to 37 points in the opening frame. They also did well defensively, helping the team limit the Pelicans to just 22 points on 28 percent shooting in the quarter.
Moreover, Game 4 saw the classic Warriors that dominate in the second half, particularly in the third quarter. While Curry and Thompson were having a cold-shooting night, Durant took over and scored 13 of his 38 points in the third canto.
If the Pelicans want any chance of a comeback, they need to find answers to the Warriors’ strongest weapons. After all, Curry and Thompson aren’t going to shoot 13-for-30 and miss 10 three-pointers for long.
The difference in depth and quality is apparent though, and it might be too late for New Orleans to turn things around.
History
Golden State return to Bay Area with a 3-1 lead and will be looking to make full use of their home court. In hindsight, they might have lost purposely last week just to close out the series in front of their home crowd.
Whatever their reason is, they are well poised to secure their ticket to the conference finals when they play at the Oracle Arena.
They won the first two games at home, averaging 120-plus points in both outings. More amazingly, Curry was without them in their opening game when they edged the Pels, 123-101. Imagine what the Dubs can do with Curry back and finding his groove on the offensive end.
New Orleans have already beaten the Warriors in the regular season at the Oracle Arena earlier last April, but they needed double-digit scoring from all their starters to pull that off against the then Curry-less Warriors.
In the first four games of this series, however, the Pelicans just had one game when their starting five all scored in double figures—in Game 2 that ended with a narrow win by the Warriors.
What are the odds?
New Orleans are clear underdogs in this series, and while they did well to boost the NBA betting odds on their chances, their recent defeat meant they are back to square one.
Unfortunately, it looks like they’ll no longer have another shot after their game this Wednesday as even the top betting sites expect another blowout.
New Orleans are at Asian Handicap +12.00 that pays at 1.95. In contrast, Golden State have a -12.00 handicap for the same odds, which only goes to show the disparity between the two ball clubs.
It’s quite tempting to make a bet online on the Pelicans considering they have the tendency to bounce back after embarrassing losses. However, that might be a risky proposition to some given the likelihood of Golden State exploding offensively.
Nonetheless, with the two teams expected to go all out, there’s a chance it could end up being a high-scoring affair. Hence, Over 227.50 @ 2.02 might not be bad at all.
Other notable match-ups
Western Conference Semi-finals Game 5
- Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets: The Warriors are not the only team looking to finish their semi-final opponents. Houston, the West’s top seeds, are also up 3-1 in their series and will be playing at home in hopes of silencing the Jazz who have surprised everyone despite their nightmare offseason.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
