Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction: Tantalizing Thunder takes on pulverized Pelicans

The NBA Regular Season is on and this has been another fantastic season that became spicier after the trade deadline. The trade deadline brought big moves of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant which has bolstered the Western Conference. Some teams mostly remained quiet and two of those teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New Orleans Pelicans are going there.

The Thunder comes into the game after defeating the Trail Blazers 138:129 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scooped up 44 points. This was the second straight win for the Thunder and Shai has now scored 30+ in eight out of the last ten games. The team has exceeded the expectations, winning 27 and losing 28 games. They had won just 24 games last season and the major change from last season has been their much-improved offense, carried once again by the amazing scoring talent of Shai. The scoring balance has been much more effective and the Thunder is an opponent that can’t be taken loosely anymore.

The Pels enter the game after losing 107:118 against the Cavaliers despite a 25 points outing by Brandon Ingram. This loss stifled a three-game winning streak and a rough 10-game losing streak has derailed what was being a cornerstone season for this Franchise. Zion Williamson’s injury has decimated the win column but Ingram’s return from injury and he has scored 25+ continuously since his return. CJ McCollum’s inconsistencies are a concern whereas Jonas Valnaciunas is the main muscle guy who pulls down boards. However, the team needs Zion, otherwise, this season is going to mirror the last season and unfortunately, the news isn’t encouraging when it comes to Zion.

• Thunder: OUT: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Aleksej Pokusevski, Chet Holmgren;
• Pelicans: OUT: Zion Williamson, Dyson Daniels. Game-Time Decisions: CJ McCollum, Josh Richardson.

The Thunder has been a formidable unit and they have what it takes to counter the threat of Brandon Ingram. Mainly, Shai draws a lot of focus and has been one of the most unguardable players for some time now. The Pels have improved since Ingram has returned but their squad isn’t as crisp as it was with Zion. That is why I favor the Thunder here. I predict a scoreline of 126:118 in their favor.