Houston Rockets vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, 12/22/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Toronto Raptors

Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN

Scotiabank Arena is the location where the Toronto Raptors (7-21) will take on the Houston Rockets (18-9) on Sunday.

The Rockets faced the Pelicans and went home with a win by a final score of 133-113 in their last contest. Houston finished the contest with a 57.5% field goal percentage (50 out of 87) and converted 17 of their 39 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Rockets made 16 of their 19 tries for a percentage of 84.2%. In regard to getting rebounds, they earned 42 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 34 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to defending, Houston allowed the other team to shoot 44.6% from the field on 41 out of 92 shooting. New Orleans distributed 25 assists and had 6 steals in this contest. In addition, New Orleans totaled 37 rebounds (11 offensive, 26 defensive) and added 6 blocks. New Orleans ended up shooting 72.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 18 of 25 shots. They also knocked down 13 of their 28 shots from beyond the arc. In reference to fouls, the Rockets left the arena with 20 while the Pelicans totaled 22 fouls.

Jalen Green is a guy who was a major factor in this game. Green walked away from this one shooting 59.1% from the field and recorded 3 assists. He played 32 minutes played and snagged 6 rebounds. He was able to score 34 points on 13 of 22 shooting.

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Houston heads into this one with a mark of 18-9 for the campaign. They have an average of 112.9 pts per game (15th in basketball) while hitting 44.2% from the field. The Rockets are hitting 32.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (321 of 982) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is pulling down 49.1 boards per contest and is sitting with 614 assists on the year, which has them ranked 27th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 13.4 times per contest and as a group they are committing 20.4 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Rockets are forcing their opponents into 15.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 20.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 1st in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 589 conceded so far this season. The Rockets are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.5% (1,039 of 2,391) and they concede 43.7 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 34.5% on 3-pointers while they are 3rd in the league in PPG allowed (106.4).

In their last game, the Raptors took a loss by a score of 101-94 when they played the Nets. In relation to how they attacked the glass, Toronto permitted Brooklyn to pull down 53 in total (15 offensive). They finished 23.1% from three-point range by going 9 of 39 and finished the game at 26 of 31 at the free throw line (83.9%). The Raptors allowed the Nets to make 33 of their 82 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.2% in this contest. Overall, the Raptors went 34 out of 86 from the floor which had them sitting at 39.5%. When discussing 3-point shots, Toronto converted 15 of 44 tries (34.1%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a rate of 78.6%. The Nets were called for 21 personal fouls for the contest which took the Raptors to the charity stripe for a total of 14 shots. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while earning 6 steals for this contest. The Raptors were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 34 in the matchup.

Ochai Agbaji ended up being a factor for the Raptors for this game. He converted 8 out of 16 for the contest for a rate of 50.0%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. Agbaji had 20 points in his 36 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the matchup.

Toronto has a win-loss record of 7-21 so far this year. When it comes to offense, the Raptors are shooting 46.2% from the floor, which is 15th in basketball. Toronto has scored 3,127 pts for the season (111.7 per game) and they pull down 45.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 28.5 times per contest (6th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 16.1 times per game. The Raptors commit 22.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 74.5% from the charity stripe.

The Toronto defense gives up 35.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (375 of 1,072) and their opponents are making 78.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 25.8 dimes and 43.4 rebounds every game, which is 13th and 9th in the NBA. The Raptors on the defensive side of the court are 23rd in the NBA in PPG given up with 116.7. They are forcing 13.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 46.2% from the field (12th in the NBA).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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