Philadelphia 76ers vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 08/03/2024, 05:21  by Joseph King | Modified on 08/03/2024 at 11:00 in NBA Prediction

Two teams on very different trajectories face off on Friday night in the NBA when the Philadelphia 76ers play host to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Sixers are currently seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 35-27 record while the Pels are fifth in the West with a record of 37-25. Philadelphia are in desperate need of a victory here as they continue to plummet down the East standings. An ugly 115-109 home loss to the depleted Memphis Grizzlies means that the team has now lost its last two in a row and six of its last 10 overall. Philly shot just 38% from the field in the defeat to Memphis, clearly missing offensive spark plug Tyrese Maxey who has now missed the last two games with a concussion and will miss out in this game as well. When Maxey doesn’t play, Philadelphia suffers, as they have now lost all seven games that he has missed in the 2023/24 campaign.

The Pelicans will be flying high coming into this matchup after blowing out the Raptors in Toronto by a score of 139-98 on Tuesday. The 41-point differential represents the biggest win for the Pelicans in the 2023/24 season and it directly came after a 27-point win over the Pacers last week. The back-to-back wins has New Orleans up to fifth in the West standings and looking to consolidate their position in the top six (which grants automatic playoff qualification). The visitors currently hold a slim half game lead over the sixth-placed Suns and a one game lead over the seventh-place Kings. New Orleans has been on a strong stretch of form overall in recent weeks, winning in seven of their last 10 appearances and improving their road record to 19-13 on the season.