Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 2/22/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, February 22, 2024

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+7)

Smoothie King Center is the location where the New Orleans Pelicans (33-22) will go up against the Houston Rockets (24-30) on Thursday. New Orleans opens as 7-point favorites. The betting total is set at 241.

The Rockets faced the Grizzlies and took a loss by a final of 121-113 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Rockets ended up finishing with 25 and the Grizzlies totaled 20 personal fouls. They buried 15 of their 35 tries from three-point range. Memphis finished shooting 68.3% from the charity stripe by making 28 of their 41 tries. Furthermore, Memphis collected 46 boards (8 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 4 blocked shots. Memphis distributed 27 assists and had 8 steals for the game. With respect to defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 49.4% from the field on 39 of 79 shooting. They also distributed 20 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 11 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they compiled a total of 56 with 22 of them being of the offensive variety. At the charity stripe, the Rockets converted 18 of their 28 attempts for a percentage of 64.3%. Houston finished the contest with a 41.2% field goal percentage (42 out of 102) and converted 11 of their 36 three-point shots.

Dillon Brooks is a player who came through for the contest. Brooks shot 29.4% from the field and dished out 2 assists. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins played and also pulled down 10 boards. He ended up scoring 19 points on 5 of 17 shooting.

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Houston heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 24-30 so far this season. They average 113.3 pts per contest (22nd in basketball) while shooting 46.2% from the floor. The Rockets are shooting 35.1% on shots from distance (648 of 1,845) and 77.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is grabbing 45.7 rebounds per game and has accumulated 1,340 dimes on the year, which ranks 27th in basketball in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 12.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 21.4 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Rockets have forced 13.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 20.1 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.7% on three-point shots and they are 10th in basketball in points per game allowed (112.7). The Rockets defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.1% (2,180 of 4,733) and they relinquish 44.3 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 3rd in basketball in giving up assists with 1,320 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Pelicans walked away with a victory by a final of 133-126 against the Wizards. Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, New Orleans allowed Washington to collect 42 overall (15 offensive). They went 46.7% from distance by going 21 of 45 and finished the contest at 17 out of 20 at the charity stripe (85.0%). The Pelicans permitted the Wizards to convert 44 of 92 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 47.8% in the game. Overall, the Pelicans finished 50 out of 89 from the field which gave them a rate of 56.2%. In regard to shooting from distance, New Orleans knocked down 10 out of 32 attempts (31.3%). They were able to knock down 23 of those for a clip of 79.3%. The Wizards committed 22 fouls for this game which took the Pelicans to the charity stripe for a total of 29 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 14 steals for this game. The Pelicans recorded 31 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 39 for this contest.

Zion Williamson ended up having an impact for the Pelicans for this contest. Williamson totaled 36 points in his 34 mins on the court and added 8 dimes for this game. He knocked down 15 out of 21 for this contest giving him a rate of 71.4%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 33-22 on the campaign. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 19.2 personal fouls every game and they shoot 76.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 27.1 times per contest (12th in the NBA) and they turn it over 13.2 times per contest. New Orleans has accounted for 6,405 points this season (116.5 per game) and they average 44.2 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Pelicans are shooting 48.9% from the field, which ranks 9th in basketball.

The New Orleans defense concedes 34.6% on 3-point attempts (738 of 2,135) and opponents are connecting on 78.7% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 26.9 assists and 42.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 18th and 8th in basketball. The Pelicans on defense are ranked 8th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 112.2. They have forced 14.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (6th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (+7)

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