Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 12/22/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Dallas Mavericks vs Houston Rockets

Date: Friday, December 22, 2023

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Toyota Center is where the Houston Rockets (13-12) will compete against the Dallas Mavericks (16-11) on Friday.

The Mavericks stepped onto the hardwood against the Clippers and took a loss by a score of 120-111 in their last contest. Dallas walked away from the contest with a 42.9% FG percentage (39 out of 91) and converted 14 out of their 43 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Mavericks converted 19 of their 27 shots for a percentage of 70.4%. With respect to rebounding, they collected 36 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 23 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In regard to defending, Dallas allowed the other team to go 55.8% from the field on 43 of 77 shooting. Los Angeles doled out 27 dimes and had 6 steals in the matchup. Moreover, Los Angeles grabbed 44 boards (7 offensive, 37 defensive) and got 3 blocks. Los Angeles finished the game shooting 92.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of their 25 shots. They also knocked down 11 of their 31 tries from beyond the arc. Concerning personal fouls, the Mavericks ended up finishing with 19 while the Clippers had 22 personal fouls.

Luka Doncic is a guy who came through for this contest. Doncic finished 36.0% from the field and also recorded 10 dimes. He saw the court for 44 mins played and grabbed 9 rebounds. He scored 28 points on 9 of 25 shooting.

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Dallas will enter this game with a mark of 16-11 so far this year. They average 119.0 pts per game (6th in basketball) on 47.1% from the field. The Mavericks are shooting 37.0% on shots from distance (424 of 1,147) and 74.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Dallas is pulling down 42.0 rebounds per contest and has racked up 685 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 21st in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.9 times per contest and as a unit they commit 18.3 fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Mavericks are forcing 14.2 turnovers every game while drawing 21.6 fouls. They give up 37.2% on 3-point shots while they are 21st in basketball in PPG from their opponents (117.7). The Mavericks defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 48.8% (1,195 of 2,450) and they concede 45.8 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are ranked 22nd in basketball in giving up assists with 732 surrendered on the year.

For their last game, the Rockets went home defeated by a final of 134-127 against the Hawks. The Rockets were able to collect 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 37 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 8 times, while recording 4 steals in the game. The Hawks were called for 18 fouls in this game which took the Rockets to the charity stripe for a total of 23 attempts. They were able to knock down 23 of the free throws for a rate of 100.0%. In reference to 3-pointers, Houston converted 16 of their 34 tries (47.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Rockets finished the game shooting 44 out of 89 from the floor which had them shooting 49.4%. The Rockets permitted the Hawks to knock down 47 out of 91 attempts from the field which had them shooting 51.6% for this contest. They finished 42.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 17 of 40 and ended up going 23 out of 28 at the charity stripe (82.1%). When talking about attacking the glass, Houston permitted Atlanta to snag 44 in total (12 on the offensive side).

Jabari Smith Jr. ended up being important for the Rockets for this game. He converted 8 of 14 in this game for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accumulated 13 rebounds. Smith Jr. tallied 34 points in his 42 mins on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the matchup.

Houston has a mark of 13-12 this season. The Rockets have committed 22.3 fouls per game and they shoot 78.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 25.6 times per game (18th in the NBA) and they turn it over 13.0 times per game. Houston has earned 2,784 points on the season (111.4 per contest) and they grab 45.2 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Rockets are shooting 46.1% from the field, which is ranked 24th in the league.

The Rockets defensively are ranked 2nd in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 108.4. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (3rd in basketball). The Houston defense gives up 32.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter (286 of 883) and opponents are knocking down 74.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They relinquish 23.4 dimes and 43.8 total boards per game, which is 2nd and 18th in the league.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Houston and under the total points

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