The Denver Nuggets will travel to New Orleans, Louisiana Friday to take on the Pelicans. The Nuggets are currently 0-2 against the Pelicans this season, losing both games on national television. The Nuggets are 0-6 ATS in their last six games against New Orleans.

Betting Trends/Statistics

The Nuggets open up as +3 underdogs with the o/u set at 231.

The Nuggets are currently 19-22-3 against the spread including just 2-3 in their last five games ATS. The Nuggets are 4-6 in their last ten o/u, with six of the last eight games resulting under.

In straight bets the Nuggets have been faring well lately going 14-6 in their last 20 games.

The Pelicans are currently 23-21-1 ATS including 4-1 in their last five games and 8-2 in their last ten games ATS. The Pelicans o/u’s have resulted well going 9-0-1 in their last ten games including hitting the over mark in 11 of their last 12 games.

The Pelicans are also 10-5 in straight bets in their last 15 games.

These two teams play totally different styles and rely on different aspects of basketball for their team’s success. The Nuggets have been a defensive juggernaut while the Pelicans have been an explosive offense. The Nuggets rank 20th overall in offense and 6th on defense. While the Pelicans rank 6th on offense and 29th on defense. The Nuggets and Pelicans are both 3-2 overall in their last five games.

Zion Has Arrived !

The Pelicans are coming off a defeat to the San Antonio Spurs, but the real story was the debut of #1 overall pick, Zion Williamson.

Zion was terrific in his first game, he scored 22-points including 17 straight in the 4th quarter. Zion had concerns regarding his ability to consistently hit a long range jumper in the NBA. He was able to quiet those critics for now, becoming the first player in NBA history to make four or more threes without a single miss in their debut.

New Orleans is 17-28 and desperate for wins as the midway point in the season approaches. The Pelicans are sitting at 12th in the western conference, 4 games back of the 8th seed.

The Pelicans have been rumored in several different trade packages involving veteran players Jrue Holiday and J.J Redick but general manager David Griffin put a pause to those rumors this week. Griffin, wants to see what the team looks like now that Zion is healthy and active for playing-time.

Nuggets Injury Concerns

The injury bug has hit the Denver Nuggets very aggressively over the past couple weeks. Denver was one of the most healthy teams in the NBA during the first couple of months of the season but all their luck changed quickly. The Nuggets are currently down 3 of their 5 starters and 5 of their top 7 players.

Jamal Murray has been out the last four games with an ankle sprain. He will continue to miss games for the foreseeable future.

Gary Harris has been out the last five games with an abductor strain. His return has been upgraded to questionable against New Orleans.

Paul Millsap has missed the most games at eight, and his return is unclear with a knee contusion/sprain.

Michael Porter Jr missed Denver’s last game against Houston with upper-back tightness. His return against New Orleans is questionable.

Mason Plumlee will be out 2-4 weeks with a cuboid injury to his right foot. Plumlee is likely to miss the most time out of this group.

The Nuggets are currently 4th in the western conference standings and 2nd in the northwest division, with a surging Utah Jazz team leading the pack.