Pelicans vs Cavaliers Odds, Picks & Player Props (Nov 20)

• Coming off their first loss of the season last night, the Cleveland Cavaliers are back in action on Wednesday, hosting the New Orleans Pelicans
• The Pelicans are just 1-6 on the road this year and have the third-worst point differential in the entire NBA (-10.8)
• Below, see the Pelicans vs Cavaliers odds, picks, and player props to target on Nov. 20

Perfection is a thing of the past for the Cleveland Cavaliers (15-1, 8-0 home, 12-4 ATS), who suffered their first loss of the season last night to the NBA-champion Celtics in Boston (120-117) but moved to an NBA-best 12-4 against the spread as 5.5-point road underdogs. There’s no rest for the wondrous as the Cavs are back in action on Wednesday night, hosting the struggling New Orleans Pelicans (4-11, 1-6 away, 4-11 ATS) at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 7:40 pm ET. The Pelicans also played last night, getting routed by Dallas 132-91.

Pelicans vs Cavaliers Odds

With both teams playing their second game in as many nights, Cleveland is a massive 13.5-point favorite in Wednesday’s Pelicans vs Cavaliers odds. The Cavs are also -1000 moneyline chalk with the Pels at +600 to win straight-up. The game total is sitting at 221.5 in Wednesday’s NBA odds.

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With injuries up and down the lineup, the Pelicans are operating with a skeleton crew of a roster for much of the season. Zion Williamson (22.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.3 APG) had been limited to just six games and is out indefinitely with a hamstring strain. CJ McCollum (18.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.0 APG) has played just four and remains sidelined by a thing injury.

Jordan Hawkins, Trey Murphy III, and Dejounte Murray – all among the team’s top-six scorers – have all missed at least seven games. Hawkins and Murray remain out while Murphy (15.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.5 APG) has played four of the last five and has no injury designation for Wednesday’s game.

With so many key contributors in and out – mostly out – of the lineup, the results have been predictable for the Pels. Since winning their first two games of the season (while still relatively healthy), the Pelicans have dropped 11 of their last 13. Eight of those 11 losses have been by double-digits, including a 132-91 embarrassment against the Mavericks last night.

NOLA vs CLE Player Props

NBA player props from DraftKings on Nov. 20. 

The Pelicans/Cavaliers player props show both teams’ star players – Brandon Ingram and Donovan Mitchell – at 24.5 points O/U. No other Pelicans player on the board has a total higher than 8.5, but there are several NOLA players missing from Wednesday’s props.

Pelicans vs Cavaliers Picks

• Pelicans +13.5 (-115)
• Ingram over 24.5 points (-125)

The Pelicans are a bad team at the moment. Head coach Willie Green doesn’t have a lot left to work with in terms of personnel, and he really hasn’t found a way to make the remaining pieces fit together in any way, shape, or form. But this is still a huge number against a tired team returning home after expending a ton of energy last night. Donovan Mitchell played 40 minutes last night, while Evan Mobley logged 38. And only eight Cavs players even saw the floor in the Celtics game, which saw Cleveland battle back from a 17-point halftime deficit to get within two in the fourth quarter.

Cleveland HC Kenny Atkinson would be wise not to ride his starters too hard tonight in a game the Cavs may have in hand early. I expect the Pelicans to make the score respectable by the end of the night, potentially winning the fourth quarter big against the end of Cleveland’s bench.

Sascha Paruk’s 2024-25 NBA betting record: 21-19 (+3.00 units). All wagers one unit unless stated otherwise.