Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 1 (Portland Climbs Back Into Playoff Contention)

Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Game Info

• Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023
• Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Moda Center -- Portland, Oregon
• Coverage: ESPN, ROOT Sports NW, and BSNO

The 2022-23 NBA season continues on Wednesday with nine more games, including a battle between the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers. The Pelicans rank 10th in the Western Conference with a 30-32 record, while the Trail Blazers check in second with a 29-32 record. This one could go either way.

New Orleans enters on a four-game losing streak that includes a 101-93 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday. Meanwhile, Portland has now dropped three of its last four games thanks to a 123-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

Which team will bounce back with a victory tonight? Let's take a closer look.

Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: POR: (-122) | NO: (+104)
• Spread: POR: -1.5 (-114) | NO: +1.5 (-106)
• Total: 233 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Trail Blazers enter this contest as slight home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 10 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 233 points, which ranks as the highest of Wednesday's projected totals.

Trail Blazers vs Pelicans Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Trail Blazers	-2	-	-	232.5	-110	-110	-134	114

Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Betting Trends

• The Trail Blazers covered 30 times in 82 games with a spread last season.
• The Pelicans went 25-29 as underdogs of 2 points or more last season.
• Trail Blazers games hit the over 36 out of 82 times last season.
• Out of 82 Pelicans games last year, 33 went over the total.

Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Prediction & Pick

The Pelicans and Trail Blazers find themselves in almost the exact same spot with just over a month remaining in the regular season. Each team is fighting to sneak into the play-in tournament in order to have a shot at the Larry O'Brien Trophy in June. Both are dealing with huge injuries, too.

The Pelicans have posted a 13-20 record without Zion Williamson this season and are averaging only 111.5 points per game during that span. Portland will be missing starting center Jusuf Nurkic tonight, but Damian Lillard is set to play and is averaging a ridiculous 37.8 points over his last nine games.

New Orleans has lost nine of its last 10 away games, so fade the Pelicans at the Moda Center.

Final Score Prediction: Trail Blazers: 119 | Pelicans: 115

Trail Blazers vs. Pelicans Best Bet

The Trail Blazers are a bit underrated in this spot. Portland beat New Orleans by a score of 106-95 back in November in a game where Williamson dropped 29 points and Lillard didn't even play. The Trail Blazers have their star back tonight in front of an excited crowd.

Portland has won 13 of its last 20 home games against New Orleans and is 6-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games against a Southwest Division foe. New Orleans is only 1-5 ATS in its last six games overall and 1-6 ATS in its last seven games played on a Wednesday. The choice is clear.

Bet: Portland Trail Blazers -1.5 (-114)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.