Paul George has been ruled out for Friday's game following a positive COVID-19 test. The Pelicans won their first three matchups against the Clippers this season and secured a 24-point victory in the lone Los Angeles-New Orleans pairing that PG13 didn't appear in. The Clippers' poor interior defense isn't equipped to stop Jonas Valanciunas and won't have its best perimeter defender to deploy against CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram. I'm rolling with the road favorites here.

Breaking news that Paul George is out tonight for the Clippers in the COVID protocols. My own dang fault for taking Los Angeles on the moneyline early this week -- why you should always wait as long as possible. Now I have to come back and play the Pelicans on the spread. Maybe I get lucky and the Clippers win close somehow without PG13. Not impossible.

The Pelicans have won nine of their past 11 with both CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram healthy, but we have to go Clippers at home. It is an advantage that they have an extra day of rest as well. The teams last played on April 3 in LA and the Clippers rolled by 19. Paul George and Robert Covington are very good defenders who can slow down Ingram (3-for-11 from the field in April 3 loss). George has been here/done that and will take over down the stretch offensively. The Clippers were 25-16 at home this season and New Orleans 17-24 on the road. (I'm not picking Hawks-Cavs until there's clarity on Jarrett Allen's potential return.)