Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 3/6/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Gulf Coast Sports

The Houston Rockets (37-25) are headed to Smoothie King Center on Thursday where they will compete against the New Orleans Pelicans (17-45).

The Rockets took the court against the Pacers and took a loss by a score of 115-102 in their last contest. In relation to fouls, the Rockets left the arena with 14 and the Pacers accumulated 19 fouls. They also made 17 of 42 attempts from 3-point land. Indiana finished the game at 100.0% at the free throw line by burying 10 of 10 tries. On top of that, Indiana grabbed 35 rebounds (5 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Indiana earned 34 assists and had 9 steals for the contest. Regarding defending, Houston allowed the other team to go 51.2% from the floor on 44 out of 86 shooting. They also recorded 22 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning getting rebounds, they earned 58 with 24 of them being offensive. When they shot from the free throw line, the Rockets made 13 of their 26 shots for a percentage of 50.0%. Houston wrapped up the game having earned a 40.8% field goal percentage (40 of 98) and made 9 of their 30 three-point shots.

Alperen Sengun is one player who was a contributor in this matchup. He notched 25 points on 12 of 19 shooting. He played 35 mins and collected 9 boards. Sengun went 63.2% from the floor and also recorded 7 assists.

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Houston will play this game with a win-loss mark of 37-25 so far this season. They cough up possession 14.0 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Houston is collecting 48.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,397 dimes this season, which is 30th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. The Rockets are hitting 34.4% on 3-point shots (754 of 2,195) and 74.3% from the charity stripe. They average 112.7 pts per game (18th in the league) while hitting 44.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Rockets have forced 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.7 fouls. They are giving up 35.2% from 3-point land and they are ranked 6th in basketball in opponents points per game (109.4). The Rockets defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 45.6% (2,494 of 5,474) and they relinquish 42.9 boards per game as a squad. They are 1st in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,434 conceded on the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Pelicans took a loss by a final score of 136-115 when they faced the Lakers. Regarding how they attacked the glass, New Orleans allowed Los Angeles to get 51 in all (17 on the offensive side). They wrapped up this game 36.5% from beyond the arc by shooting 19 out of 52 and walked away from this one shooting 21 of 27 from the free throw line (77.8%). The Pelicans permitted the Lakers to make 48 of their 90 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 53.3% for the contest. In all, the Pelicans ended up shooting 46 out of 93 from the field which gave them a rate of 49.5%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, New Orleans made 9 out of 34 attempts (26.5%). They were able to knock down 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. The Lakers committed 12 fouls in this game which got the Pelicans to the free throw line for a total of 21 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while getting 11 steals for the matchup. The Pelicans pulled down 25 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 35 in this game.

Zion Williamson ended up being important for the Pelicans for this contest. Williamson had 37 points in his 26 minutes on the hardwood and earned 6 assists for the matchup. He converted 17 of 23 in the matchup for a rate of 73.9%, and accumulated 4 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss mark of 17-45 for the campaign. As an offensive unit, the Pelicans are connecting on 45.1% from the floor, which is 24th in the league. New Orleans has earned 6,883 points on the year (111.0 per game) and they pull in 43.5 boards per game. They are getting an assist 25.5 times per contest (19th in the league) and they turn the ball over 14.1 times per contest. The Pelicans have committed 18.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 76.0% from the charity stripe.

The New Orleans defense concedes 36.7% from downtown (917 of 2,500) and opponents are making 78.8% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 29.0 dimes and 46.5 boards per game, which has them ranked 27th and 27th in the NBA. The Pelicans on the defensive side of the court are 26th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 119.0. They are forcing 14.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 48.2% from the floor (28th in basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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