This article is part of our NBA Picks series.
Alex Barutha: Pelicans -5.5 vs. HOU -- BetMGM, 2:14 PM
The Rockets are without Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood for this matchup, and John Wall is still struggling to see minutes in the 30s consistently. The Pelicans have all their key players available, and they've been playing well lately, going 5-2 over the past seven games. Over this stretch, they've had the ninth-best point differential (+4.8) and fourth-best spread differential (+5.0) in the NBA. I'm banking on them keeping that up today.
Nick Whalen: Nikola Vucevic OVER 24.5 points at Portland -- DraftKings Sportsbook
Vucevic's scoring has been down of late -- he's only reached 25 points in one of his last five games -- but he's in a great spot Tuesday to bounce back against one of the league's worst defenses. Portland is the 29th-ranked defense over the last 10 games, surrendering 115.4 points per 100 possessions with Enes Kanter patrolling the paint. With all of the injuries in Orlando, defenses have been able to key on Vucevic, but that hasn't stopped him from putting up 21.5 field goal attempts per game over his last 10 appearances. I like Vucevic's chances to have a big night in a game that Orlando should be able to keep relatively competitive.
