New Orleans Pelicans vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 12/19/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: New Orleans Pelicans vs Houston Rockets

Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

The Houston Rockets (17-9) will try to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans (5-22) at Toyota Center on Thursday.

The Pelicans took the court against the Pacers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 119-104 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Pelicans walked away with 19 while the Pacers recorded 21 fouls. They also made 16 of their 38 tries from distance. Indiana ended up going 87.5% at the charity stripe by making 21 of their 24 tries. On top of that, Indiana snagged 43 rebounds (7 offensive, 36 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Indiana totaled 33 dimes and had 10 steals in this game. With regard to the defense, New Orleans allowed the other team to go 50.6% from the floor on 41 out of 81 shooting. They also doled out 18 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 17 turnovers and having 11 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they collected 49 with 19 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Pelicans made 18 of 23 shots for a rate of 78.3%. New Orleans ended with a 39.2% FG percentage (38 of 97) and buried 10 of their 33 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Brandon Boston Jr. is a player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He accumulated 20 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He played 31 minutes played and collected 2 rebounds. Boston went 46.7% from the field and recorded 1 assist.

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New Orleans steps onto the hardwood with a record of 5-22 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 105.1 points per contest (30th in the league) while going 43.7% from the field. The Pelicans are shooting 32.9% on three-point shots (295 of 898) and 76.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, New Orleans is snagging 43.3 boards per game and has accumulated 635 dimes so far this season, which is 21st in the league in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 15.2 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.0 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Pelicans have forced 14.6 turnovers per game while drawing 17.8 fouls. They currently rank 29th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 772 conceded on the campaign. The Pelicans defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 48.3% (1,172 of 2,424) and they concede 45.7 boards per game as a basketball team. They relinquish 37.0% on 3-pointers and they rank 24th in the league in points per game allowed (116.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Rockets took a loss by a score of 111-96 when they played the Thunder. The Rockets were able to corral 30 defensive boards and 19 offensive rebounds for a total of 49 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 16 times, while getting 7 steals for this contest. The Thunder committed 24 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Rockets to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They were able to bury 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 60.0%. With regard to shots from downtown, Houston converted 11 of 46 attempts (23.9%). Overall, the Rockets shot 35 out of 96 from the floor which gave them a rate of 36.5%. The Rockets allowed the Thunder to make 36 out of their 80 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 45.0% for the contest. They wrapped up this game 36.7% from three-point range by going 11 of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 28 out of 32 from the free throw line (87.5%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, Houston permitted Oklahoma City to get 43 in all (4 on the offensive side).

Amen Thompson ended up having an impact for the Rockets in this matchup. He knocked down 9 out of 15 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 7 rebounds. Thompson accumulated 19 points in his 30 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist in the game.

Houston has a record of 17-9 for the year. The Rockets commit 20.4 fouls per contest and they hit 76.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 22.3 times per contest (29th in the league) and they are giving up possession 13.5 times per contest. Houston has totaled 2,914 points on the year (112.1 per contest) and they pull down 49.3 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Rockets are shooting 43.7% from the field, which ranks them 28th in the league.

The Houston defense surrenders 34.1% on shots from beyond the arc (305 of 894) and opponents are knocking down 75.5% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 21.7 assists and 43.9 boards every game, which is 1st and 17th in the NBA. The Rockets on defense are ranked 4th in the NBA in PPG allowed with 106.1. They are forcing 15.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.4% from the floor (2nd in basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston

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