Southwest Division foes will lock horns when the New Orleans Pelicans (9-20) challenge the Houston Rockets (16-15) at the Smoothie King Center. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Saturday, Dec. 26 and can be seen on NBA, RSW and FSN.
The Pelicans are hoping for a better outcome after their 94-88 loss to the Heat on Friday. Despite the loss, Anthony Davis earned his 18th double-double this season with 29 points and 15 rebounds. The Rockets, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-84 win against the Spurs on Friday. Dwight Howard claimed his 11th double-double of the season with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Rockets winning the first matchup 108-101. Davis had a double-double in the loss with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
The Pelicans are a slim one-point favorite at home against Houston. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of 212 points. The Pelicans have gone 9-20 Straight Up (SU) and 11-18 Against The Spread (ATS). They have the same record SU and ATS against divisional opponents, going 2-3. The Pelicans have no trouble scoring as they rank second in the league in home offense with 108.8 points per game. The Pelicans are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .798 from the free throw line.
In the other locker room, the Rockets have a record of 13-18 ATS and 16-15 SU. Against fellow division members, Houston has a 3-3 SU and ATS record. Offensively, they average 103.6 points per game, which is good for fifth in the league. The Rockets rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking second in the league with 322 made (10.0 per game). Houston is the third-best team in the league at scoring points off turnovers with 18.6 per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Houston beat New Orleans, bumping its SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. On the other hand, the Pelicans hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou, ATS Winner – Hou, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games at home.
New Orleans is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home.
New Orleans is 4-10 SU in its last 14 games when playing Houston.
New Orleans is 15-7-1 ATS in its last 23 games when playing Houston.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 6 games when playing Houston.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Orleans’s last 5 games when playing at home against Houston.
Houston is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing on the road against New Orleans.
This season, Houston has an even 3-3 SU record against Southwest teams, and New Orleans is 2-3 against these opponents.
Houston is one of the top scoring teams, averaging 103.6 points per game (ranked fifth). New Orleans, on the other hand, gives up 107.1 points per game (ranked 28th).
Houston averages 103.1 points per road game, placing the team fifth-best in the NBA. New Orleans, on the other hand, allows 109.2 points per home game (ranked 30th).
Houston has a 6-1 record when opponents score fewer than 100 points. New Orleans has yet to win a game in which it puts up under 100 (0-14).
Houston has a 10-14 record when allowing at least 100 points. New Orleans has a 9-6 record when it hits triple digits.
The Pelicans have a defensive rating of 108.1 (ranked 29th), while the Rockets rank 12th for their offensive rating of 102.8.
The New Orleans Pelicans average a field goal percentage of 44.5% this season. The Houston Rockets have a poor record of 7-12 when opponents have a FG% of 44.5% or greater.
The Houston Rockets rank lower for their field goal percentage (22nd) than their effective field goal percentage (12th), while the New Orleans Pelicans rank the same for both metrics (15th).
On average, the Houston Rockets make 21.4 assists per game and the New Orleans Pelicans make 21.3. Houston is ranked 16th, while New Orleans is ranked 18th.
The New Orleans Pelicans average 5.1 blocks per game for a rank of 14th. The Houston Rockets rank higher (ninth), earning 5.4 blocks each contest.
The New Orleans Pelicans rank 29th in offensive rebounding, while the Houston Rockets rank 24th in defensive rebounding.
The Houston Rockets average 10.2 steals per game (ranked first). The New Orleans Pelicans have a subpar 1-6 record when they allow at least 10 steals.
