Pelicans vs. Wizards Betting Line February 23

Written by:
Carrie Stroup
Published on:
Feb/23/2016
Pelicans vs. Wizards Betting Line February 23

Carrie Stroup here with your Pelicans vs. Wizards betting line for February 23.  Washington -4.5, Total: 217

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS (22-33) at WASHINGTON WIZARDS (25-29)

The Pelicans will be going for their third straight victory when they face the Wizards in Washington on Tuesday.

New Orleans has played extremely well of late, defeating Detroit 111-106 as a 4.5-point road underdog on Sunday. It was the team’s second straight victory and fourth in its past five games. The Pelicans are finally playing some efficient offense and have now shot 47% or better from the field over the past five contests. They will need to continue to take good shots moving forward.

Meanwhile, the Wizards are coming off of a 114-94 loss as 1.5-point road favorites against the Heat on Saturday. Washington had won-and-covered in its previous two games and will be hoping to get right back on track with a win on Tuesday.

These teams have already met once this season and the Pelicans won that game 107-105 as 3.5-point home favorites. The Wizards have been the better team in this series, though, going 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS versus the Pelicans over the past three seasons. That includes a 2-0 SU record at home, but the Pelicans are 2-0 ATS in those games.

One thing worth noting coming into this one is that New Orleans is 34-19 ATS after failing to cover in two of its past three games over the past two seasons. Washington is, however, an impressive 15-5 ATS after five straight games committing 14 or less turnovers over the past three seasons.

C Omer Asik (Ankle) is questionable for the Pelicans, who are already without SG Eric Gordon (Finger) for the next few games and SFs Tyreke Evans (Knee) and Quincy Pondexter (Knee) for the season. SGs Alan Anderson (Ankle) and Gary Neal (Thigh) are both listed as questionable for the Wizards.

The Pelicans are coming off of a big victory in Detroit and PF Anthony Davis (24.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.2 BPG) turned in the performance of the season in that one. Davis finished the game with 59 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and a block in 43 minutes of action. He was efficient as well, going 24-for-34 from the field, 2-for-2 from outside, and 9-for-10 from the line. He is in a groove recently, shooting 61.2% from the field over the past five games and should have no trouble getting it going against Washington. The Wizards are weakest at the power forward position and don’t have anybody with the size or speed to stick with him.

Another guy that will need to play well is PG Jrue Holiday (15.3 PPG, 5.7 APG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG). Holiday has been on a tear lately, averaging 23.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG over the past five contests. His ability to get into the lane causes Davis’ defenders to collapse on him and that usually results in a dunk for the Pelicans’ big man. Holiday will need to be aggressive in this one, as he can’t afford to lose his matchup against John Wall by a wide margin.

The Wizards most recently suffered a bad defeat in Miami, but the team is playing a lot better since the All-Star break. As always, Washington will need a big game from PG John Wall (19.9 PPG, 9.8 APG, 4.6 RPG, 2.0 SPG). Wall averaged 19.5 PPG and 9.5 APG in the two Wizards victories since the break, but he had just 12 points and four assists in the loss to the Heat on Saturday. He will need to be aggressive as a scorer and also find his teammates in this one. Washington is not talented enough to overcome a poor outing offensively from its superstar.

Wall will also need to play well defensively, though. If he is torched by Jrue Holiday then things could get ugly fast for the Wizards.

SG Bradley Beal (18.5 PPG) can take a lot of pressure off of Wall by performing at a high level in this game. He has played well recently, averaging 19.4 PPG on 49.3% shooting from the field and 43.3% shooting from the outside. The Pelicans are relatively weak at the shooting guard position and Beal will need to take advantage of that and give the Wizards a lift.

PF Markieff Morris (11.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG) can also give Washington a spark in this one. Morris is averaging just 5.5 PPG on 4-for-15 shooting from the field in his two games since being acquired by the Wizards, but he will be leaned on in this game. The team needs Morris to do his best defending Davis and if he cannot find a way to at least slow him down then it’ll be tough for Washington to win. It’d also help if Morris can knock down some outside shots and provide the floor stretching presence that the Wizards thought they were acquiring.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter

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