Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 1/1/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Detroit Pistons vs Houston Rockets

Date: Monday, January 1, 2024

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

The Houston Rockets (15-15) will go up against the Detroit Pistons (3-29) at Toyota Center on Monday.

The Pistons faced the Raptors and walked away with a win by a score of 129-127 in their last contest. Detroit walked away from the contest having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (41 out of 82) and converted 12 out of their 28 shots from downtown. At the charity stripe, the Pistons buried 35 of their 40 shots for a percentage of 87.5%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they earned 41 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 29 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In relation to defending, Detroit allowed the other team to go 50.5% from the field on 46 of 91 shooting. Toronto totaled 26 assists and had 9 steals for the contest. Moreover, Toronto snagged 33 boards (6 offensive, 27 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Toronto went 82.1% from the free throw line by making 23 of 28 shots. They made 12 of their 24 attempts from beyond the arc. Concerning fouls, the Pistons ended up finishing with 22 while the Raptors had 27 fouls.

Cade Cunningham is a guy who was a contributor in the matchup. Cunningham ended up shooting 45.0% from the floor and earned 12 assists. He was on the court for 38 mins played and totaled 3 rebounds. He left the arena with 30 points on 9 of 20 shooting.

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Detroit comes into this one with a record of 3-29 so far this season. They have an average of 110.3 points per game (27th in the NBA) on 46.6% from the floor. The Pistons are connecting on 33.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (322 of 955) and 78.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Detroit is pulling down 43.6 boards per game and has totaled 817 dimes for the season, which is 17th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 16.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 22.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Pistons are forcing 12.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.8% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 25th in the league in points per game allowed (121.2). The Pistons defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.9% (1,398 of 2,860) and they surrender 42.9 boards per game as a unit. They are currently ranked 13th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 819 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the court, the Rockets took a loss by a score of 131-127 against the 76ers. The Rockets snagged 28 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 42 in the matchup. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while recording 8 steals for this contest. The 76ers had 21 fouls for the matchup which took the Rockets to the free throw line for a total of 21 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of those for a rate of 71.4%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Houston converted 14 out of 30 tries (46.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Rockets finished 49 out of 91 from the field which had them at 53.8%. The Rockets allowed the 76ers to make 45 of 86 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.3% in this contest. They shot 36.4% from distance via 12 of 33 and ended up going 29 out of 33 at the charity stripe (87.9%). When talking about rebounds, Houston allowed Philadelphia to collect 30 in total (11 offensive).

Fred VanVleet ended up having an impact for the Rockets for the game. He converted 9 out of 16 for the contest giving him a rate of 56.3%, and earned 3 rebounds. VanVleet totaled 33 points in his 43 minutes on the court and tallied 10 assists in the game.

Houston has a mark of 15-15 for the year. As an offense, the Rockets are hitting on 46.3% from the floor, which ranks 24th in the league. Houston has earned 3,369 pts for the season (112.3 per contest) and they grab 45.2 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 25.1 times per contest (25th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 13.1 times per contest. The Rockets commit 22.0 fouls per game and they connect on 78.1% from the free throw line.

The Rockets on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the league in PPG allowed with 109.7. They have forced 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 45.0% from the floor (3rd in the NBA). The Houston defense concedes 32.5% on 3-pointers (346 of 1,063) and opponents are knocking down 75.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 23.4 assists and 43.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 2nd and 16th in the league.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Detroit

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