Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 1/21/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Boston Celtics vs Houston Rockets

Date: Sunday, January 21, 2024

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

The Boston Celtics (32-9) are traveling to Toyota Center on Sunday where they will take on the Houston Rockets (19-21).

The Celtics played the Spurs and walked away with a win by a score of 117-98 in their last game. Boston finished the game with a 46.7% FG percentage (42 out of 90) and knocked down 18 of 38 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Celtics converted 15 of their 19 attempts for a rate of 78.9%. Concerning hauling in boards, they earned 54 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 22 dimes in this contest while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 5 steals. In reference to the defense, Boston allowed 41.9% from the floor on 39 of 93 shooting. San Antonio earned 26 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. Additionally, San Antonio snagged 41 rebounds (11 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 6 rejections. San Antonio finished the game shooting 81.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 13 of their 16 shots. They knocked down 7 of their 34 attempts from long range. In reference to fouls, the Celtics finished with 15 while the Spurs accounted for 15 fouls.

Jayson Tatum is a player who was a factor in this game. Tatum finished the contest at 42.9% from the floor and distributed 2 assists. He was on the court for 32 mins played and also pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 24 points on 9 of 21 shooting.

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Boston heads into this one with a record of 32-9 this year. They are averaging 120.9 points per game (5th in the league) while going 47.8% from the field. The Celtics are hitting 38.1% on shots from 3-point land (665 of 1,745) and 80.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, Boston is pulling in 47.5 rebounds per game and has tallied 1,047 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 17th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 13.0 times per game and as a group are committing 17.4 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Celtics are forcing 12.1 turnovers per game while drawing 19.0 fouls. They currently rank 6th in the league in giving up assists with 1,016 conceded for the campaign. The Celtics are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.0% (1,701 of 3,782) and they concede 43.8 boards per game as a unit. They give up 35.4% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 5th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (110.9).

For their last game, the Rockets took a loss by a score of 109-94 when they faced the Knicks. The Rockets were able to snag 32 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. The Knicks committed 20 fouls in this matchup which got the Rockets to the charity stripe for 19 tries. They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a rate of 84.2%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Houston converted 8 out of their 30 tries (26.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Rockets walked away from this one shooting 35 for 84 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.7%. The Rockets allowed the Knicks to bury 39 of 87 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 44.8% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 35.1% from downtown by going 13 out of 37 and finished the contest at 18 out of 22 from the charity stripe (81.8%). Concerning how they rebounded, Houston permitted New York to grab 51 in total (12 offensive).

Fred VanVleet ended up being a major contributor for the Rockets for the game. VanVleet tallied 24 points in his 41 minutes of playing time and tallied 12 dimes for the contest. He knocked down 8 out of 19 for the game giving him a rate of 42.1%, and had 3 rebounds.

Houston has a win-loss record of 19-21 for the campaign. In terms of offensive execution, the Rockets are connecting on 46.1% from the floor, which has them ranked 24th in the NBA. Houston has totaled 4,490 points on the year (112.3 per game) and they average 44.9 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 24.7 times per contest (25th in basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.9 times per game. The Rockets are committing 21.5 personal fouls every game and they go 78.0% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense surrenders 34.3% on three-point shots (493 of 1,436) and opponents are knocking down 75.4% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 24.3 dimes and 44.2 boards on a nightly basis, which is 4th and 19th in the league. The Rockets on the defensive side of the court are 8th in the league in points given up per game with 111.7. They are forcing 13.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 45.6% from the floor (4th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Boston

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