A very interesting game is going to happen on Monday in the NBA as New Orleans Pelicans will host Milwaukee Bucks. The Pelicans are the 2nd best team in the Western Conference with 18 wins and 11 losses while the Bucks currently are the best team in the Eastern Conference with 21 wins and 8 losses. I'm picking the Pelicans to win this game.

Last Sunday, the Pelicans beat the Suns at home in overtime which was their 7th win in a row. Last week they had 3 road games but they didn't get a single win. Two times they lost to Utah Jazz and after that, they lost to the Suns. The 2nd game in Utah ended with just a 3-point difference while in Phoenix they lost by 4. New Orleans has been great at home where they have 12 wins and 3 losses. Currently, they have 6 home game winning streak.

The Bucks haven't played great recently. Out of the last 4 games, they have 2 wins. Both losses were on the road against Western Conference teams! A week ago they lost to Houston, then they crushed the Warriors at home, then they were blown out by Memphis on the road and a few days later they got redemption as they crushed the Jazz although Antetokounmpo wasn't playing. Milwaukee has struggled on the road against Western Conference teams. They beat the Thunder just in the 2nd overtime, then they lost to San Antonio and beat Dallas by just a point.

The Pelicans have the 6th-best home record in the league. Per advanced stats, they have the 12th-best offense (115.9), the 6th-best defense (107) and the 7th-best net rating (8.9). The Bucks with 7 wins in 12 road games are the 5th-best road team in the league but advanced stats aren't so great. Milwaukee has the worst offense away from home (103), the best defense (107) and the 16th-best net rating (-4).

As we can see, the defense is at the same level but the biggest difference is in the offense. In this game, Antetokounmpo will be back in the lineup but Khris Middleton will be out. He's an important part on both ends of the floor. Brandon Ingram won't play but Herb Jones is back, they still have CJ McCollum, Jonas Valanciunas and Zion Williamson. As a home favorite, the Pelicans have won 9 out of 11 games while the Bucks have 1 win in 3 games as an away underdog. After a loss, New Orleans has won the next game 7 out of 10 times.

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

一场非常有趣的比赛将在周一举行，新奥尔良鹈鹕队将主场迎战密尔沃基雄鹿队。鹈鹕以18胜11负排名西部第二，而雄鹿目前以21胜8负排名东部第一。我选鹈鹕队赢这场比赛。

上周日，鹈鹕队在主场加时赛中击败了太阳队，这是他们的七连胜。上周他们有3场客场比赛，但一场都没赢。他们两次输给了犹他爵士，之后又输给了太阳。在犹他的第二场比赛中，他们仅以3分的差距结束，而在菲尼克斯，他们输了4分。新奥尔良在主场表现很好，他们取得了12胜3负的战绩。目前，他们有6个主场连胜。

雄鹿队最近打得不太好。在过去的4场比赛中，他们赢了2场。两场失利都是在客场对阵西部球队!一周前他们输给了火箭，然后他们在主场击败了勇士，然后他们在客场被灰熊击败，几天后他们击败了爵士，尽管安特托昆博没有上场。雄鹿队在与西部球队的比赛中表现不佳。他们在第二个加时赛就击败了雷霆，然后输给了圣安东尼奥马刺，仅以1分的优势击败了小牛。

鹈鹕队的主场战绩在联盟中排名第六。根据高级数据，他们拥有第12佳的进攻(115.9)，第6佳的防守(107)和第7佳的净效率(8.9)。雄鹿队在12场客场比赛中取得7胜，是联盟第5好的客场球队，但高级数据并不是那么好。雄鹿的客场进攻最差(103)，防守最好(107)，净效率(-4)排在第16位。

正如我们所看到的，防守处于相同的水平，但最大的差异是在进攻上。在这场比赛中，安特托昆博将回到阵容中，但米德尔顿将缺席。他在攻防两端都很重要。布兰登·英格拉姆不会上场，但是赫伯·琼斯回来了，他们还有CJ·麦科勒姆，乔纳斯·瓦兰丘纳斯和锡安·威廉姆森。作为主场热门，鹈鹕在11场比赛中取得了9场胜利，而雄鹿在客场处于劣势，在3场比赛中取得了1场胜利。在输球后，黄蜂在接下来的10场比赛中赢了7场。