Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 16 (Cleveland Stands Tall in Back-and-Forth Battle)

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Game Info

• Date: Monday, January 16, 2023
• Time: 3:00 PM ET
• Venue: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse -- Cleveland, Ohio
• Coverage: BSOH and BSNO

Monday, Jan. 16's NBA schedule is jam-packed, including an inter-conference collision at 3 p.m. ET between the Cleveland Cavaliers (27-17) and New Orleans Pelicans (26-17).

The Cavaliers enter this afternoon's action hoping to bounce back from Saturday's 110-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Meanwhile, the Pelicans have some momentum on their siding, picking up a 116-110 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, led by a massive 33-point, 16-rebound performance from Jonas Valanciunas.

Can the Cavaliers avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time since the end of December? Or will the Pelicans improve to 3-2 on their current road trip?

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: NO: (+225) | CLE: (-275)
• Spread: NO: +7 (-110) | CLE: -7 (-110)
• Total: 222.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Cavaliers enter this contest as heavy home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 3 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 222.5 points, which is one of Monday's lowest totals.

Cavaliers vs Pelicans Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Cavaliers	-6.5	-	-	228.5	-110	-110	-260	215

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Betting Trends

• The Cavaliers covered 41 times in 82 matchups with a spread last season.
• The Pelicans went 9-13 as underdogs of 6.5 points or greater last season.
• The Cavaliers and their opponents combined to go over the point total 37 out of 82 times last season.
• Last season, 33 of the Pelicans' 82 games went over the point total.

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Prediction & Pick

Lately, the Pelicans haven't given anyone much to cheer about, going 3-5 in their last eight games. While that's only two games under .500, the three victories came against the Pistons, Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards — three of the NBA's bottom-six teams.

It doesn't help that the Pelicans have been sloppy in that span, finishing with at least 12 turnovers in six of those games. Unfortunately for them, the Cavaliers force the 10th-most giveaways at home and also score the 11th-most points off turnovers. Needless to say, Cleveland will punish New Orleans for its mistakes.

With the Cavaliers also being 7-2 in their last nine home games and the Pelicans owning a 3-7 record in their last 10 road outings, I'm much more confident in Cleveland this afternoon.

Final Score Prediction: Cavaliers: 118 | Pelicans: 115

Cavaliers vs. Pelicans Best Bet

Although I'm backing a Cavaliers outright victory, I don't like them as 7-point favorites. Cleveland is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games, also failing to cover the spread in nine of its last 13 January contests. Furthermore, the Cavs are also 3-9 ATS in their last 12 battles with the Pelicans.

Considering how the Pelicans are also 4-2 ATS in their last six trips to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, I like their odds of keeping things closer than expected.

Bet: Pelicans +7 (-110)

Watch FanDuel TV’s new NBA show “Run It Back” with Shams Charania, Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons, and Eddie Gonzalez Monday-Wednesday at 10 ET on FanDuel TV, the FanDuel Youtube page, or download the podcast here: fanduel.com/podcasts.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. 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.