The Golden State Warriors are two wins away from advancing to the Western Conference finals again after defeating the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 2 on Wednesday at home, 121-116. Can the Pelicans cut their series deficit down in half this Friday? Or will the Warriors remain undefeated against Anthony Davis in the playoffs?
Register here to make your pick.
Betting Preview for Golden State Warriors vs New Orleans Pelicans NBA Western Conference Round 2 Game 3 on May 4, 2018
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans
When: Friday, May 4, 8:00pm EST
Line: Golden State Warriors (point spread) vs New Orleans Pelicans (point spread) – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (-4)
Oh what a luxury it was for the Warriors to have Stephen Curry come off the bench and torch the Pelicans on Tuesday. Curry came back from a lengthy absence because of a knee issue and dropped 28 points with five 3-pointers in 27 minutes of action as part of the second unit. Now that he’s made his playoffs debut, it’s safe to expect Curry be inserted back into the starting lineup as soon as this Friday. That’s sounds scary for the Pelicans, who were already having a tough time dealing with a Curry-less Warriors starting unit in the series. The Warriors also had their most assists in a game in the playoffs with 36 with Draymond Green dishing out 12 dimes. Green has been averaging a triple-double in this conference semifinals matchup with 18.0 points, 11.5 assists, and 12.0 rebounds in two games.
The Warriors are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Betting on the New Orleans Pelicans (+4)
The Pelicans need to find a way to keep the Warriors from pulling away from games in an instant. New Orleans have shown they could keep in step with Golden State but there have just been moments in the past two games that the Warriors suddenly find an extra gear leave the Pellies in the dust. One thing the Pelicans did well in Game 2 was attack the interior defense of Golden State, as they had 66 points in the paint, while the Warriors only had 38. What’s surprising is that for all their aggressiveness, the Pelicans were only given nine free throw attempts (7-for-9), while the Warriors went 22-for-27 from the foul line. Perhaps playing at home would mean more whistles from the refs that would favor New Orleans.
The Pelicans are 4-0 SU and 4-0 ATS in their last four games at the Smoothie King Center.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State wins, 118-114.
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