New York Knicks vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 12/16/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Knicks vs Houston Rockets

Date: Thursday, December 16, 2021

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet

The Houston Rockets (9-18) will try to defeat the New York Knicks (12-16) at Toyota Center on Thursday.

The Knicks faced off with the Warriors and took a loss by a score of 105-96 in their last contest. New York ended the contest with a 36.1% field goal percentage (30 out of 83) and converted 16 of 42 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Knicks buried 20 of 22 shots for a rate of 90.9%. In the matter of pulling down boards, they earned 35 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 18 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 6 turnovers and earning 6 steals. When it comes to defending, New York let their opponent shoot 45.5% from the field on 35 of 77 shooting. Golden State earned 49 assists and had 28 steals for this game. On top of that, Golden State snagged 42 rebounds (7 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 6 rejections. Golden State ended up shooting 74.1% at the free throw line by converting 20 of their 27 attempts. They made 15 of their 40 tries from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Knicks finished with 21 while the Warriors recorded 12 fouls.

Julius Randle is someone who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up with 31 points on 10 of 21 shooting. He played 37 minutes played and pulled down 7 rebounds. Randle walked away from this one shooting 47.6% from the field and recorded 3 assists.

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New York will take the court with a win-loss mark of 12-16 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.8 times per contest and as a group they commit 19.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, New York is snagging 45.0 boards per contest and has earned 599 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 27th in the league in terms of passing. The Knicks are connecting on 36.0% on 3-pointers (373 of 1,035) and 78.9% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 105.5 points per contest (25th in basketball) while going 43.6% from the floor.

On defense, the Knicks are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 18.9 fouls. They rank 24th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 694 surrendered this season. The Knicks defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.0% (1,092 of 2,484) and they surrender 45.6 rebounds per game as a team. They concede 35.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 16th in basketball in points per game allowed (107.3).

The last time they took the court, the Rockets walked away with a victory by a final of 132-126 when they faced the Hawks. The Rockets recorded 33 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 8 steals in the matchup. The Hawks committed 12 personal fouls in the game which got the Rockets to the charity stripe for 27 tries. They were able to make 21 of those for a clip of 77.8%. When talking about three-point attempts, Houston converted 19 of 46 tries (41.3%). Overall, the Rockets went 46 out of 96 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 47.9%. The Rockets permitted the Hawks to convert 42 out of 85 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.4% for this game. They went 38.5% from downtown by shooting 15 of 39 and finished the contest at 27 of 31 at the charity stripe (87.1%). When it comes to attacking the glass, Houston allowed Atlanta to get 32 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Eric Gordon ended up being important for the Rockets for the matchup. He converted 10 of 16 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and tallied 3 rebounds. Gordon tallied 32 points in his 32 mins of playing time and added 3 dimes for the contest.

Houston has a mark of 9-18 on the campaign. The Rockets are committing 20.6 personal fouls every game and they hit 70.2% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 23.1 times per contest (16th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 17.5 times per game. Houston has tallied 2,885 pts for the campaign (106.9 per contest) and they pull in 44.3 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rockets are hitting on 44.8% from the field, which ranks them 21st in basketball.

The Rockets on the defensive side of the court are 28th in the league in points per game surrendered with 112.6. They have forced 13.9 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 45.2% from the field (17th in the NBA). The Houston defense allows 33.0% on three-point shots (345 of 1,045) and their opponents are connecting on 78.4% of their foul shots. They surrender 22.8 dimes and 45.6 boards every game, which ranks 9th and 15th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York

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