Rockets vs Pelicans Prediction

New Orleans Pelicans (16-12) vs Houston Rockets (13-12)

Game Info: Saturday, December 23, 2023 at 7:00 pm (Smoothie King Center)

Betting Odds: New Orleans Pelicans -6.5 -- Over/Under:

The Houston Rockets invade the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. Here’s a Rockets vs Pelicans Prediction.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have been in great shape as they’ve won six of their last nine games overall and they will be eager to keep it going after blowing past the shorthanded Mavericks in a 122-96 home win last night. Alperen Sengun led the team with 22 points and 15 rebounds on eight of 12 shooting, Jabari Smith Jr added 21 points on eight of 13 shooting while Jalen Green chipped in with 17 points. As a team, the Rockets shot 48 percent from the field and 11 of 38 from the 3-point line as they took advantage of the severely depleted Mavericks and never look in danger after dominating the first half by 56-39. The Rockets did a great job of holding the Mavericks to just 34 percent shooting for the game while dominating the boards by 63-47.

Houston Rockets Player Facts

• Fred VanVleet ranks 4th amongst qualified players for assist:turnover ratio (5.5) this season.
• Alperen Sengun ranks 5th amongst qualified Centers for assists per game (5.2) this season.

New Orleans Pelicans

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in pretty good form themselves as they’ve won five of their last six games and they will be eager to stay hot after routing the Cavaliers in a 123-104 road win on Thursday. Trey Murphy led the team with 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting, CJ McCollum added 18 points with six rebounds and four assists while Brandon Ingram chipped in with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 54 percent from the field and 15 of 35 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 36 points in the first quarter thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers from Murphy and they just kept their foot on the gas, outscoring the Cavaliers in every quarter to earn the impressive road win.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Pelicans rank 1st in the league for opponent steals per game this season (6.2).
• The Pelicans rank 30th in the league for opponent three-point field goals attempts per game this season (39.5).
• The Rockets rank 1st in the league for opponent assists per game this season (23.2).
• The Rockets rank 1st in the league for opponent field goal percentage this season (43.9%).

Rockets vs Pelicans Prediction

The Rockets are still missing Tari Eason and Reggie Bullock, while the Pelicans are keeping eyes on Cody Zeller and Zion Williamson who are both questionable. The Rockets are playing this one on zero days’ rest after blowing past the depleted Mavericks last night, while the Pelicans have the advantage of an extra days rest after making light work of the Cavaliers on Thursday. The Rockets beat the Pelicans by 104-101 back on Nov 10, but I like the Pelicans’ chances of revenge here as they’ve been the hotter team. The Rockets are only 2-10 on the road this season and I think that trend continues as the Pelicans take care of business at home.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.