Pelicans favored in play-in opener against Thunder: See odds, full NBA play-in schedule

The New Orleans Pelicans finished as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, and they’ll be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in their first NBA Play-In Tournament matchup.

The Pelicans fell from the No. 8 seed to No. 9 after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their regular season finale, making it to where the Pels will face the No. 10-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

The opening line at Caesars Sportsbook has the Pels as 5.5-point favorites over the Thunder, with the contest set for Wednesday at 9 p.m. at the Smoothie King Center.

The Pels ended the regular season with a 42-40 record, which was the same as the No. 8-seeded Timberwolves, but the tiebreaker went to Minnesota based on head-to-head record.

Both the Pels and the Timberwolves finished a game behind the No. 7-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, and the Lakers opened as 6.5-point favorites over the Timberwolves in the other Western Conference play-in matchup.

As for the Eastern Conference, the No. 7-seeded Miami Heat opened as five-point favorites over the No. 8-seeded Atlanta Hawks, and the No. 9-seeded Toronto Raptors opened as 4.5-point favorites over the No. 10-seeded Chicago Bulls.

The winner of each seven versus eight game secures the No. 7 seed in their conference, and the winner of the nine-10 game will play the loser of the seven-eight game for their conference’s No. 8 seed.