Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Prop Pick: Can CJ McCollum Help Pelicans Avoid Sweep?
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Prop Pick: Can CJ McCollum Help Pelicans Avoid Sweep?
The New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder meet for game four of the first round of the NBA playoffs tonight from the Smoothie King Center in Louisiana. The Pelicans are down 0–3 in the series and are looking to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Thunder tonight. The Pelicans have looked completely inept offensively and have not scored more than 92 points in a game in this series so far.
THUNDER VS. PELICANS GAME 4 DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: April 29, 2024
- Start Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: NBA TV
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Prediction
The Pelicans really seem to be reeling from the loss of Zion Williamson. Williamson got injured in the play-in tournament and has missed all three games of this series so far. The loss has proven detrimental to the team, as they have not been able to find consistent scoring anywhere.
CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram were expected to lead the way in scoring, and they have so far, but they have only combined for an average of 33 points per game over the first three games of the series. They will have to step up in scoring and be the leaders of this offense if they want to win tonight. Therefore, I like CJ McCollum to go over 2.5 three-pointers made tonight. McCollum is the main three-point shooter on this offense, and he shot exceptionally well from deep this season, averaging 43% from three on the season. In April, he had the best month of his season from deep, shooting 51% from three.
However, his three-point shooting has fallen off in the playoffs so far, as he is shot just 22.7% from three over the first three games of this series. He went 2–9 from three in Game 1, 1-5 from three in Game 2, and 2–8 from three in Game 3. He has yet to go over 2.5 three-pointers, but the volume has been there, and he is too good of a shooter to be held down for the fourth game in a row, which is also an elimination game.
Because it is an elimination game, McCollum will play hefty minutes and will likely have another high volume of shooting. I expect him to take at least nine three-pointers in this game, meaning we would need him to just shoot 33% to hit the over here. Given how good of a three-point shooter McCollum was all season, I like him to get it together and score in Game 4.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans Prop Pick
Pick: CJ McCollum Over 2.5 Threes Made (-122) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.