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Table of Contents
Match Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Matchup | New Orleans Pelicans vs San Antonio Spurs |
| Date | Saturday, November 8, 2025 |
| Time | 8:00 PM ET |
| Venue | Frost Bank Center, San Antonio |
| Broadcast | Gulf Channel |
| Spurs Record | 6-2 (4-0 home) |
| Pelicans Record | 2-6 |
| Spread | Spurs -11.5 / Pelicans +11.5 |
| Moneyline | Spurs -579 / Pelicans +419 |
| Total | 226.5 |
For full markets and live numbers, track this matchup through the NBA odds and game pages under the NBA picks, NBA teams, NBA scores and odds, and NBA betting guide sections on ScoresAndStats.
Line and Odds Movement
The number reflects two forces: San Antonio’s surge with Victor Wembanyama plus the return of De’Aaron Fox, against a Pelicans team missing Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Yves Missi and running patchwork rotations. A double-digit spread in early November is aggressive, but current availability and profile justify it. If confirmed minutes for Fox are normal and New Orleans’ injury report holds, books are comfortable forcing dog money on a thin Pelicans group.
The total at 226.5 sits in a zone that assumes Spurs efficiency and a Pelicans pace bump, but also respects San Antonio’s defensive metrics. Any tighter rotation from New Orleans can suppress their scoring late.
Matchup Breakdown
San Antonio has structure. Wembanyama, Fox, Castle and Barnes give the Spurs a clear offensive hierarchy and clean spacing. Against Houston, they closed with discipline: inside-out touches, empty-side actions for Wembanyama, and Castle controlling tempo. Adding Fox’s rim pressure and pick-and-roll creation gives them a primary engine they lacked in earlier games. That should create easier looks for Barnes and Champagnie and keep Wembanyama in advantageous matchups instead of forcing off-the-dribble usage every trip.
Defensively, San Antonio’s profile is real. They contest at the rim, erase second-chance chances by owning the glass, and force opponents into jumpers. Against a depleted Pelicans squad that leans on role players to create off the dribble, that is a bad formula for the road team. The Spurs’ main risk is emotional and physical letdown on the back-to-back, but the Fox debut offsets part of that by injecting fresh usage and energy.
New Orleans arrives with effort, not firepower. The win at Dallas was about connected defense and situational shot-making, not sustainable high-end offense. Without Zion and Poole, their creation is by committee: Bey, Murphy, Jones, Fears, Alvarado. They can defend, cut, and scrap, but they lack a consistent mismatch scorer against length like Wembanyama and a downhill guard like Fox. Their best path is to turn this into an ugly half-court game, attack the Spurs’ young guards, get Wembanyama into foul trouble, and lean on energy and defensive rotations.
If San Antonio maintains its defensive standard and avoids turnovers that fuel Pelicans transition, their talent gap shows. If they get loose, New Orleans has enough toughness to hang inside the number.
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Injury Reports
New Orleans Pelicans
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Zion Williamson | Out | Left hamstring |
| Jordan Poole | Out | Left quad |
| Yves Missi | Out | Illness |
| Additional depth | Out/Limited | Various rotation notes |
San Antonio Spurs
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| De’Aaron Fox | Active | Hamstring (return) |
| Core rotation | Active | Monitoring standard rest on B2B |
Monitor final confirmations; any surprise limitations for Fox or rest spots would adjust margin expectations, not flip the matchup.
Spurs Recent Performance
San Antonio’s 6-2 start is backed by numbers, not noise. Efficient two-point scoring, strong interior defense, controlled glass, and late-game composure against Houston and earlier quality opponents. Wembanyama’s response after two down nights was direct: inside touches, quick decisions, shot contests, and clean rim protection. Castle’s 13 assists against Houston show his fit as a stabilizing lead guard, and Fox’s return should allow him to toggle into pressure defender and secondary creator, which tightens both ends.
This is a team trending into a defined identity at home: defend, dictate pace, attack mismatches through size and length, and trust shooting variance to break their way over 48 minutes.
Pelicans Recent Performance
New Orleans has stabilized slightly with two straight wins, but context matters. The defensive stand in Dallas was rare compared to their first six games. Offense still leans on role pieces over stars. Frequent lineup changes create volatility, and the absence of Zion as a paint force compresses their efficiency.
They can still cover if their half-court defense remains locked in, if Bey and Murphy stay hot, and if Alvarado plus Jones generate turnovers and easy runouts. But over 48 minutes against a deeper, longer, more organized home side, the margin for error is thin.
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Betting Insights and Trends
San Antonio’s metrics support being a heavy favorite at home in this spot, particularly with Fox active and Wembanyama settled. New Orleans’ spread equity depends on dragging pace down and winning effort categories, which is possible in a scheduling disadvantage for the Spurs, but not probable given their depth and structure.
Best Bets and Prediction
Projected score: Spurs 120, Pelicans 106.
Spurs -11.5: Lean to the favorite. The matchup advantages in creation, rim pressure, size, and depth are clear. The number is large, but the Pelicans’ missing star power and reliance on patchwork offense make extended droughts likely.
Over 226.5: Slight lean to the over. Spurs’ efficient offense plus Fox’s return can push them into the 115–120 range. If New Orleans reaches low 100s through volume and garbage-time points, the total clears. Risk comes from the Pelicans’ offense stalling, which would favor a Spurs-and-under correlated angle.
Handicapper Section
Primary position: Spurs -11.5, tied to Fox’s return, Spurs’ interior dominance, and Pelicans’ depleted creation.
Secondary angle: Small lean over 226.5, but only if lineups confirm full Spurs deployment and no surprise rest. For additional matchup data, splits, and market moves, run this game through the NBA-focused tools on ScoresAndStats using side-specific matchup and odds pages.
