NBA Bet Of The Day: Hawks' Tough Defense Meets Pelicans' Top-Heavy Offense

• The New Orleans Pelicans host the Atlanta Hawks (2-1 ATS) as six-point underdogs after a three-game road trip.

• The Pelicans went 2-9 SU and 5-6 ATS last season without Zion Williamson, who remains out with a foot injury.

• The Hawks are allowing just 97.3 points per game, second in the NBA, while the Zion-less Pelicans are 26th in the NBA in scoring (101.3).

The Pelicans (1-3 SU, 2-2 ATS) continue to get by in the no-Zion Williamson phase of the season, as he recovers from an offseason foot injury. Of course "get by" can mean a lot of things, and for the Pels right now, it's about avoiding a snowball affect of losses as the early season moves forward.

New Orleans hosts the Hawks (2-1 SU, 2-1 ATS) as six-point underdogs Wednesday night, with the Hawks sporting one of the best defenses in the NBA.

Hawks' Lock-Down Defense

The Hawks are allowing just 97.3 points per game, second in the NBA, while the Zion-less Pelicans are 26th in the NBA in scoring (101.3), so this clearly has a strong feel for an under play with the total at 219. New Orleans also brings a really top-heavy lineup offensively without Zion, with Brandon Ingram (27.0 points per game), leading the team in scoring, and Devonte’ Graham, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Jonas Valanciunas all averaging over 17 a game. After that, the next highest scorer is Trey Murphy III at just 5.8 a game.

So, yeah, there's not a ton of depth there for New Orleans.

The Pelicans went 2-9 SU and 5-6 ATS without Zion last season, hitting the over in 55% of their games. They've hit the over just once in four games so far this year.

Along with the under on the game total, I like a strong outing from Ingram and over 23.5 points (DraftKings).