Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 1/4/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans are welcoming the Houston Rockets at Smoothie King Center on Wednesday.

The Rockets stepped onto the hardwood against the Mavericks and ended up losing by a score of 111-106 in their last game. Houston ended the contest with a 46.3% field goal percentage (38 out of 82) and buried 9 of 29 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Rockets converted 21 of their 29 tries for a rate of 72.4%. Pertaining to rebounding, they compiled 46 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 21 dimes in this game while forcing 8 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Pertaining to defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 42.0% from the field on 34 out of 81 shooting. Dallas doled out 19 dimes and had 8 steals in this matchup. In addition, Dallas snagged 41 rebounds (8 offensive, 33 defensive) and earned 4 blocked shots. Dallas finished the contest at 88.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 30 of 34 attempts. They made 13 out of their 43 attempts from long range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Rockets left the arena with 28 while the Mavericks had 19 personal fouls.

Kevin Porter Jr. is one player who had an impact for the matchup. Porter Jr. finished the game at 55.0% from the field and recorded 6 dimes. He saw the court for 42 mins and snagged 6 boards. He ended up with 25 points on 11 out of 20 shooting.

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Houston steps onto the court with a mark of 10-27 for the year. They turn it over 17.1 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 20.7 fouls every game. As a unit, Houston is collecting 47.0 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 801 dimes this season, which has them ranked 30th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Rockets are connecting on 33.0% on shots from beyond the arc (427 of 1,293) and 77.0% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 109.3 pts per contest (29th in the NBA) on 44.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Rockets are forcing 14.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.9 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 17th in basketball in giving up assists with 943 relinquished on the season. The Rockets defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 47.2% (1,538 of 3,257) and they surrender 41.8 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 36.1% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 19th in the league in opponents PPG (115.7).

The last time they took the court, the Pelicans walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 120-111 against the 76ers. Regarding how they cleaned up the glass, New Orleans permitted Philadelphia to snag 35 in total (7 offensive). They finished 42.9% from three-point range by going 15 of 35 and ended up shooting 23 of 28 from the free throw line (82.1%). The Pelicans permitted the 76ers to bury 41 out of their 86 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 47.7% in this matchup. In all, the Pelicans shot 42 out of 84 from the field which gave them a rate of 50.0%. In relation to three-point shots, New Orleans converted 11 out of 29 attempts (37.9%). They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 80.0%. The 76ers earned 22 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They coughed up the ball 17 times, while recording 3 steals in this matchup. The Pelicans snagged 39 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 49 in the matchup.

CJ McCollum was important for the Pelicans in this matchup. McCollum scored 26 points in his 39 mins of playing time and totaled 6 dimes in this game. He buried 9 out of 16 for this contest for a field goal rate of 56.3%, and had 2 rebounds.

New Orleans has a mark of 23-14 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the court, the Pelicans are shooting 48.1% from the field, which is ranked 9th in the league. New Orleans has accumulated 4,345 points so far this year (117.4 per game) and they average 45.3 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.4 times per game (9th in the NBA) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.4 times per game. The Pelicans commit 20.5 fouls per game while shooting 78.5% from the free throw line.

The Pelicans defensively are ranked 15th in the NBA in PPG allowed with 113.0. They are forcing their opponents into 15.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.8% from the field (14th in the league). The New Orleans defense concedes 33.7% on three-point shots (459 of 1,363) and opponents are converting on 77.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They give up 25.3 assists and 41.8 rebounds every game, ranking them 14th and 4th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New Orleans

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