Tip-off: Monday, 7:35 p.m. ET
Line: New Orleans -4.5, Total: 203.5

The Pelicans look to push their record over .500 with a victory on the road against the Celtics on Monday night.

The New Orleans stars have kept the team in the playoff picture all season long, but this club has lost three of its past five games SU (3-2 ATS). The two wins earned in that time were impressive though, as the Pelicans defeated both Houston and Memphis by an average of 19.5 PPG. New Orleans was a 1-point favorite when it met the Grizzlies on Friday and had no issues earning a 106-95 win, as it connected on 10-of-20 shots from behind the arc and blocked 10 of shots. Boston is in full-on rebuilding mode, as evidenced by its recent trades, and it has been playing some very poor basketball with SU losses in nine of the past 11 contests (4-7 ATS). The Celtics lost all three of their games in that time where they were favored, and in three of their past four matchups; they have shot below 40% as a team from the floor. In their last game on Saturday, Boston visited the 11.5-point favorite Raptors, and despite shooting a solid 47% from the floor, lost 109-96 while letting Toronto make 13-of-30 long range shots (43.3%) and grab 15 offensive rebounds. This will be the first of five consecutive games on the road for the Pelicans, and so far they are just 6-13 SU (10-9 ATS) when playing away from home, while the Celtics are 8-11 SU and ATS when playing at TD Garden. New Orleans has had no trouble beating up on the Celtics recently with five straight SU wins (3-2 ATS) by an average of 7.2 PPG. The past three games played between the two clubs have been very competitive, with the margin of victory being three or less each time. This includes a barnburner in their last meeting on March 16, 2014, a 121-120 game that went in the Pelicans favor as 5.5-point home favorites. Some trends to watch for Monday include that New Orleans is 12-2 ATS (86%) after failing to cover two of its previous three games ATS this season while also being a poor 3-20 ATS (13%) in road games off a double-digit win over a division rival since 1996. There are no significant injuries on the Pelicans’ side of the ball, but PG Jameer Nelson (ankle) is listed as doubtful for the host Celtics.

Can the Pelicans open their long road trip on Monday with a victory? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (96-79-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 74% ATS (29-10) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 73% ATS (11-4) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (30-25) for the season. StatFox Brian is 64% ATS (21-12) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 56% ATS (31-24) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 6-2 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 56% ATS (31-24) this season.

New Orleans has been decent on the offensive side of the ball this season with 101.3 PPG (16th in NBA) on 45.8% shooting from the floor (13th in league), but they have failed to crack 100 points in three of their past five games. The defense has struggled a bit too, giving up 100.8 PPG (11th-worst in league) as their opposition is hitting on 46.6% of field goal attempts (6th-worst in league). PF Anthony Davis (23.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 1.5 SPG) has a double-double in three of his past five performances, as he is shooting 58% from the field in that time. He’s always done well in his four career meetings with the Celtics, averaging 20.5 PPG (67% FG) to go along with 12.0 RPG, 2.5 BPG and 1.0 SPG. SG Tyreke Evans (16.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.3 APG, 1.3 SPG) is coming off a solid game against the Grizzlies on Friday (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block) and has scored 20+ points in three of his past five contests. He’s faced Boston just five times (4 starts) in his career, going for 19.6 PPG (49% FG), 7.6 RPG, 4.6 APG and 1.8 SPG. PG Jrue Holiday (15.5 PPG, 7.3 APG, 1.6 SPG) has made 5-of-10 threes in the past two games while averaging 19.5 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.5 RPG and 2.0 SPG in those contests. Holiday has been very poor in his 16 career games (15 starts) facing the Celtics, netting 11.3 PPG (36% FG) to go along with 5.8 SPG and 1.5 SPG.

Boston’s offense has not been the problem this season, as it ranks eighth in the NBA with 102.4 PPG on 45.3% FG (15th in league), but has averaged a mere 97.4 PPG on 42.2% FG in the past five contests. It is the defense that has really cost the Celtics some wins, as they are allowing the opposition to score 103.9 PPG (4th-worst in league) behind 45.0% FG and 36.1% threes (9th-worst in NBA). PF Jared Sullinger (13.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG) is coming off a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) and has five 20-point performances so far this season. In his three career games (1 start) against the Pelicans, he has managed 10.3 PPG (31% FG) and 7.3 RPG. PG Avery Bradley (13.2 PPG) has been carrying the offense over the past three games, as he is averaging 20.3 PPG and has hit 8-of-16 three-pointers. He’s done little in terms of production against New Orleans in six career meetings (3 starts) with 7.2 PPG over 20.7 MPG on the court. SG Evan Turner (9.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.0 APG) has seen increased playing time of late and has been able to produce some nice numbers (10.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.2 SPG) over his past five outings. He has now faced the Pelicans seven times (4 starts) in his career while averaging 12.7 PPG (43% FG) and 5.9 RPG.