Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/2/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Houston Rockets (8-8) are on their way to Crypto.com Arena on Saturday where they will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers (11-9).

The Rockets took the court against the Nuggets and ended up losing by a score of 134-124 in their last contest. Houston ended the game with a 54.7% FG percentage (47 out of 86) and converted 16 of their 41 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Rockets converted 14 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 73.7%. With respect to grabbing boards, they earned 35 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 27 dimes for this game while forcing the opposition into 3 turnovers and having 3 steals. When it comes to defense, Houston allowed the other team to go 50.5% from the field on 48 out of 95 shooting. Denver earned 37 dimes and had 4 steals for this game. In addition, Denver collected 41 rebounds (13 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Denver shot 73.1% from the free throw line by making 19 of 26 tries. They knocked down 19 out of their 43 shots from 3-point land. In regard to personal fouls, the Rockets walked away with 20 while the Nuggets recorded 18 personal fouls.

Jalen Green is someone who played a role in this contest. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 8 of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 minutes played and also pulled down 6 boards. Green ended up shooting 66.7% from the floor and also dished out 9 assists.

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Houston enters this one with a mark of 8-8 so far this year. They cough up possession 12.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 22.3 fouls per game. As a unit, Houston is snagging 43.3 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 422 assists this season, which is 27th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Rockets are shooting 35.9% on shots from distance (199 of 554) and 76.0% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 110.9 points per contest (24th in the league) while shooting 47.4% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Rockets are forcing their opponents into 12.7 turnovers per game and they draw 19.3 personal fouls. They are ranked 1st in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 367 surrendered this year. The Rockets defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 44.4% (608 of 1,370) and they surrender 44.1 boards per game as a group. They are conceding 33.3% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 4th in the league in opponents points per game (107.3).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Lakers went home defeated by a final of 133-110 against the Thunder. When talking about cleaning the glass, Los Angeles permitted Oklahoma City to grab 48 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They went 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 14 of 42 and ended up shooting 19 out of 22 from the charity stripe (86.4%). The Lakers permitted the Thunder to make 50 of 94 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 53.2% for this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Lakers went 36 out of 81 from the floor which gave them a rate of 44.4%. In regard to 3-point shots, Los Angeles made 11 of 33 attempts (33.3%). They were able to make 27 of those for a clip of 84.4%. The Thunder were called for 24 fouls for the matchup which took the Lakers to the free throw line for 32 shots. They coughed up the ball 13 times, while recording 6 steals for this game. The Lakers snagged 34 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 41 in the matchup.

Anthony Davis was important for the Lakers in the game. Davis accumulated 31 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes for this game. He buried 11 out of 18 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 61.1%, and earned 14 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 11-9 for the season. As an offense, the Lakers are connecting on 48.9% from the field, which has them ranked 5th in the league. Los Angeles has accumulated 2,256 pts so far this season (112.8 per game) and they collect 43.9 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 26.4 times per contest (11th in the league) and they turn it over 15.0 times per contest. The Lakers commit 17.4 fouls per contest and they shoot 77.1% from the charity stripe.

The Lakers are ranked 18th in the league in points allowed per game with 114.3. They have forced 13.5 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.8% from the field (8th in basketball). The Los Angeles defense surrenders 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (281 of 776) and their opponents are connecting on 76.9% of their free throw attempts. They give up 26.9 assists and 44.6 total boards per game, which is ranked 20th and 20th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles

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