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NBA · Regular season, NBA Cup game

Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans: Preview and Stats

Oklahoma City Thunder 8-4
vs
New Orleans Pelicans 4-8
Paycom Center, Oklahoma City

Our picks

Our picks for Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans come out after the official NBA injury report, at most 48 hours before tip-off, and at the latest (3 hours before tip-off).

We are waiting for the result of a team's previous game.

Our NBA model track record for this matchup

Our winner picks on these teams

  • Oklahoma City Thunder 7 of 12 right (58%)
  • New Orleans Pelicans 9 of 12 right (75%)

Settled NBA winner picks since 21 Oct 2026.

Game details

Stage
NBA, Regular season, NBA Cup game
Tip-off
Arena
Paycom Center
City
Oklahoma City
Since last match
Oklahoma City Thunder: Atlanta Hawks New Orleans Pelicans: Detroit Pistons
Next match
Oklahoma City Thunder: Miami Heat New Orleans Pelicans: San Antonio Spurs

Missing production & availability impact

Share of last 10 games' offensive creation (PTS + AST) and minutes sidelined.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

New Orleans Pelicans

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Official NBA injury report

Oklahoma City Thunder

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

New Orleans Pelicans

Official NBA injury report not yet filed for this matchup.

Expected 8-man core rotation

Projected starters and key bench from recent usage and the official injury report.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Projected Starters
  • G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
    32.3 MPG 30.7 PPG 4.3 RPG 4.7 APG
  • G Jared McCain
    27.4 MPG 12.8 PPG 4.1 RPG 2.0 APG
  • G Ajay Mitchell
    28.2 MPG 20.8 PPG 3.9 RPG 3.3 APG
  • F-C Isaiah Hartenstein
    26.0 MPG 8.6 PPG 11.2 RPG 3.9 APG
  • C Aday Mara
    23.1 MPG 9.3 PPG 7.0 RPG 1.6 APG
Key Bench
  • G Bennett Stirtz
    22.0 MPG 9.5 PPG 1.4 RPG 1.4 APG
  • G-F Kenrich Williams
    21.5 MPG 7.6 PPG 3.9 RPG 1.3 APG
  • G Alex Caruso
    18.9 MPG 7.4 PPG 4.4 RPG 2.9 APG

New Orleans Pelicans

Projected Starters
  • F Zion Williamson
    32.9 MPG 21.6 PPG 5.4 RPG 2.7 APG
  • G Jeremiah Fears
    30.1 MPG 16.8 PPG 5.1 RPG 5.7 APG
  • F Trey Murphy III
    33.1 MPG 17.1 PPG 4.7 RPG 4.0 APG
  • G Dejounte Murray
    31.3 MPG 11.7 PPG 4.6 RPG 3.9 APG
  • F Saddiq Bey
    27.6 MPG 15.2 PPG 3.3 RPG 2.7 APG
Key Bench
  • F Herbert Jones
    24.0 MPG 6.0 PPG 3.3 RPG 1.3 APG
  • C Derik Queen
    21.2 MPG 12.4 PPG 5.9 RPG 2.5 APG
  • F-C Karlo Matković
    19.8 MPG 8.7 PPG 4.3 RPG 1.2 APG

OptimaGoal power & pace ratings

Full NBA power ratings

Neutral-court net point rating and 48-minute tempo rank across all 30 NBA franchises.

Oklahoma City Thunder

#14 of 30
Net rating -0.2 30d: -8.9
Pace: -1.5 (#16 of 30)

New Orleans Pelicans

#24 of 30
Net rating -3.7 30d: -0.3
Pace: -0.7 (#9 of 30)

OptimaGoal tactical & efficiency profile (0–100)

Original 0–100 indices built from each team's last 10 played games before tip-off.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Net 57
Shot quality (TS%) 39
3PT volume & accuracy 37
Ball security & passing 46
Rebounding control 53
Defensive disruption 63

ORtg 110.3 · DRtg 107.7 · Net +2.6 · TS 56.2%

New Orleans Pelicans

Net 28
Shot quality (TS%) 55
3PT volume & accuracy 29
Ball security & passing 24
Rebounding control 40
Defensive disruption 39

ORtg 109.9 · DRtg 117.8 · Net -7.9 · TS 58.5%

Oklahoma City Thunder · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 8W actual vs 7.6W expected (12 GP)
New Orleans Pelicans · Record vs point differential W-L record aligned with point differential 4W actual vs 3.6W expected (12 GP)

Halftime splits & clutch profile

Game-state outcomes and half-by-half scoring share over the last 15 games.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Win rate when leading at HT 7/7 (100%)
Comeback wins when trailing at HT 2/7 (29%)
Scoring split (1H vs 2H)
1H: 57.3 (52.0%) 2H: 52.9 (48.0%)
Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 1-0 10+ pt margins: 6-5

New Orleans Pelicans

Win rate when leading at HT 3/5 (60%)
Comeback wins when trailing at HT 2/10 (20%)
Scoring split (1H vs 2H)
1H: 56.9 (47.4%) 2H: 63.3 (52.6%)
Clutch (≤5 pts / OT): 2-3 10+ pt margins: 3-5

Scoring environment and threshold hit counts across the last 10 games.

OKCNOP
Points scored / game 112.1 116.4
Points allowed / game 109.5 124.8
Average game total 221.6 241.2
Average 1st-half total 109.4 116.6
Possessions / 48 min 101.7 102.7
Games with 220+ pts 6/10 9/10
Games with 230+ pts 2/10 6/10
Games with 240+ pts 1/10 5/10
Scored 115+ pts 4/10 6/10

Schedule density & travel spot

Rest days, multi-game compression and current home/road stretch entering tip-off.

Oklahoma City Thunder

1 day rest
1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Homestand · Game 1

New Orleans Pelicans

1 day rest
1 in 4 nights 1 in 6 nights Road trip · Game 1

Primary offensive threats

Available rotation leaders by scoring and shot share over the last 10 games.

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • #1 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander G 27.4% pts share
    30.7 PPG · 4.3 RPG · 4.7 APG · 2.1 3PM 25.5% FGA
  • #2 Ajay Mitchell G 18.6% pts share
    20.8 PPG · 3.9 RPG · 3.3 APG · 1.0 3PM 16.9% FGA
  • #3 Jared McCain G 11.4% pts share
    12.8 PPG · 4.1 RPG · 2.0 APG · 1.7 3PM 13.5% FGA

New Orleans Pelicans

  • #1 Zion Williamson F 18.6% pts share
    21.6 PPG · 5.4 RPG · 2.7 APG · 0.2 3PM 13.9% FGA
  • #2 Jeremiah Fears G 14.4% pts share
    16.8 PPG · 5.1 RPG · 5.7 APG · 1.2 3PM 16.5% FGA
  • #3 Trey Murphy III F 14.7% pts share
    17.1 PPG · 4.7 RPG · 4.0 APG · 2.4 3PM 13.5% FGA

Last five games

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • L 108-118 at Portland Trail Blazers (A) 12 Nov
  • L 103-123 at Portland Trail Blazers (A) 11 Nov
  • W 114-75 vs Washington Wizards (H) 8 Nov
  • W 128-97 at Memphis Grizzlies (A) 7 Nov
  • W 124-116 vs Cleveland Cavaliers (H) 5 Nov

New Orleans Pelicans

  • L 111-145 vs Brooklyn Nets (H) 12 Nov
  • L 87-138 at Golden State Warriors (A) 10 Nov
  • L 123-139 at LA Clippers (A) 9 Nov
  • L 109-115 vs Minnesota Timberwolves (H) 7 Nov
  • W 120-113 vs Utah Jazz (H) 5 Nov

Most recent first, all games of the season, overtime included.

Last 10 head-to-head meetings

OKC · 10W NOP · 0W
Avg total pts: 214.5 OKC avg: 117.1 NOP avg: 97.4 225+ pt games: 4/10 OKC at home: 5-0
  • 27 Jan 2026 OKC 104‑95 NOP
  • 17 Nov 2025 NOP 109‑126 OKC
  • 2 Nov 2025 OKC 137‑106 NOP
  • 13 Apr 2025 NOP 100‑115 OKC
  • 10 Feb 2025 OKC 137‑101 NOP
  • 7 Dec 2024 NOP 109‑119 OKC
  • 13 Nov 2024 OKC 106‑88 NOP
  • 29 Apr 2024 NOP 89‑97 OKC
  • 27 Apr 2024 NOP 85‑106 OKC
  • 24 Apr 2024 OKC 124‑92 NOP

Season profile comparison

OKCNOP
Record 8-4 4-8
At home 5-0 3-4
On the road 3-4 1-4
Conference 7 of 15, Western Conference 12 of 15, Western Conference
Streak Lost 2 in a row Lost 4 in a row
Days of rest 1 1
Our team rating #14 of 30 #25 of 30
Pace #16 of 30 #9 of 30

Western Conference standings

Full NBA standings
# Team W L PCT GB Home Road L10 Streak
1 Los Angeles Lakers 11 2 .846 – 5-1 6-1 8-2 W7
2 San Antonio Spurs 10 2 .833 0.5 4-2 6-0 10-0 W10
3 Houston Rockets 9 3 .750 1.5 6-1 3-2 7-3 W2
4 Minnesota Timberwolves 9 3 .750 1.5 5-1 4-2 7-3 W5
5 Portland Trail Blazers 8 3 .727 2.0 3-2 5-1 7-3 W2
6 Golden State Warriors 8 4 .667 2.5 6-1 2-3 8-2 L1
7 Oklahoma City Thunder 8 4 .667 2.5 5-0 3-4 6-4 L2
8 Memphis Grizzlies 7 4 .636 3.0 2-4 5-0 6-4 L1
9 Denver Nuggets 6 4 .600 3.5 3-2 3-2 6-4 W1
10 Dallas Mavericks 7 5 .583 3.5 5-2 2-3 6-4 L1
11 Phoenix Suns 5 6 .455 5.0 5-3 0-3 5-5 W2
12 New Orleans Pelicans 4 8 .333 6.5 3-4 1-4 4-6 L4
13 LA Clippers 2 8 .200 7.5 2-3 0-5 2-8 L1
14 Sacramento Kings 1 10 .091 9.0 0-6 1-4 1-9 L4
15 Utah Jazz 1 11 .083 9.5 1-6 0-5 0-10 L10

Solid cut lines mark Top 6 (direct Play-offs) and Top 10 (Play-in Tournament).

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