Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/28/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Monday, December 28, 2020

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Altitude

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+9)

The Denver Nuggets (0-2) play the Houston Rockets (0-1) at Ball Arena on Monday. Houston opens this matchup as 9-point dogs. The over/under is set at 226.5.

The Houston Rockets played the Portland Blazers and went home with a loss by a final score of 128-126 in their last game. Houston finished with a 51.1% field goal percentage (45 of 88) and made 11 of their 35 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Rockets converted 25 of their 32 attempts for a rate of 78.1%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned 42 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 27 dimes for this contest while earning 5 steals and 5 blocks. In terms of the defense, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 46.1% from the field on 47 out of 102 shooting. Portland earned 27 assists and had 10 steals for the contest. On top of that, the Blazers grabbed 45 boards (11 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 6 blocks. Portland ended up shooting 65.2% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of 23 attempts. They also buried 19 of their 45 shots from 3-point land.

Christian Wood is someone who was a factor in the matchup. He accumulated 31 points on 14 out of 22 shooting. He was on the court for 43:37 mins and pulled down 13 boards. Wood finished the game shooting 63.6% from the field and totaled 3 assists. One more player that was a factor in this game for the Rockets was James Harden. He snagged 4 rebounds and also earned 17 assists. He finished the contest at 54.5% from the floor in the matchup via 12-of-22 (44 points). When all was said and done, Harden was on the court for 43:16 min.

Houston enters this game with a win-loss mark of 0-1 this year. The Rockets are hitting 31.4% on shots beyond the perimeter (11 of 35) and 78.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 126 points per contest (2nd in the league) while hitting 51.1% from the field. They turn the ball over 15 times per game and as a squad they are committing 22 personal fouls every game. As a team, Houston is pulling in 42 boards per contest and has accounted for 27 dimes on the year, which is 29th in basketball in terms of passing. On defense, the Rockets are forcing their opponents into 14 turnovers every game and they draw 20 fouls. The Rockets defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 46.1% (14 of 20) and they relinquish 45.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 2nd in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 27 surrendered on the campaign. They concede 42.2% on 3-pointers and they rank 29th in the NBA in opponents points per game (128).

In their last game, the Denver Nuggets walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 121-108 when they played the Los Angeles Clippers. The Nuggets were able to collect 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 32 in the matchup. They blocked 2 attempts while getting 7 steals for the matchup. The Clippers had 32 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 31 tries. They were able to make 23 of the free throws for a percentage of 74.2%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Denver converted 11 of 36 tries (30.6%). When all was said and done, the Nuggets finished 37 out of 81 from the field which gave them a rate of 45.7%. The Nuggets allowed the Clippers to make 41 out of their 74 attempts from the field which had them shooting 55.4% for the contest. They finished 50.0% from 3-point land by going 19 of 38 and ended up shooting 20 out of 24 at the free throw line (83.3%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Denver allowed Los Angeles to grab 38 in all (9 offensive).

Nikola Jokić was important for the Nuggets for the contest. He converted 7 out of 13 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 53.8%, which gave him 24 points. Jokić totaled 9 boards in his 38:29 mins of time on the court and had 10 assists for this game. One more player that ended being a contributor for Denver was Jamal Murray. He finished with 23 points in 37:16 mins played by going 9 of 20 shooting in the matchup. Murray finished going 45.0% from the floor while contributing 3 dimes and 5 rebounds.

Denver has a mark of 0-2 on the season. The Nuggets are responsible for committing 22.5 fouls per contest and they hit 78.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.5 times per contest (11th in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 14.0 times per game. Denver has scored 230 pts this season (115.0 per contest) and they collect 39.0 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Nuggets are hitting on 46.9% from the field, which ranks them 13th in the league. The Nuggets on the defensive end are ranked 25th in basketball in PPG given up with 122.5. The Denver defense surrenders 42.0% on shots from distance (29 of 69) and their opponents are making 80.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 29.5 assists and 46.0 boards on a nightly basis, which is 29th and 15th in the league. They are forcing 18.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.9% from the field (22nd in basketball).

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Denver (-9) and over 226.5 points

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