Rockets vs Pelicans Game Breakdown

Get ready for an explosive clash at the Smoothie King Center tonight as the high-flying Houston Rockets zoom into New Orleans, aiming to add another win to their impressive 20-9 record against the struggling Pelicans, who are desperately seeking to improve their 5-25 stance. With the majority of the first-round playoff games turning out to be no-contest blowouts, tonight’s 09:00 PM EST showdown promises some much-needed edge-of-your-seat action. The Rockets, fresh off a nail-biter against Toronto, are looking to keep their engines burning hot, while the Pelicans, still reeling from their narrow escape against Denver, hope to finally take flight. With the stakes sky-high and the betting lines buzzing, tonight’s game is all set to shoot beyond the expected over/under of 220. Will the Rockets continue their ascent, or will the Pelicans soar to new heights? One thing’s for sure, in this battle of birds and rockets, expect the feathers and sparks to fly!

Game Breakdown

Game Time: December 26, 2024 09:00PM EST

Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans

Vegas Odds

	HOU ML	NOP ML	Over/Under	Line
Open	-350	+275	221.5	-8.0/8.0
Recent	-300	+250	220.0	-8.0/8.0
Difference	+50	-25	-1.5	–

Team Performance

LAST 10

6W-4L

AWAY

19W-33L

75.0% Win Probability

LAST 10

1W-9L

HOME

24W-26L

25.0% Win Probability

Previous Matchups

Date		Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final	O/U
12/19/24	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	25	27	27	34	113	Over
12/19/24	Houston Rockets HOU	39	27	33	34	133	Over
02/22/24	Houston Rockets HOU	27	23	29	26	105	Over
02/22/24	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	31	32	38	26	127	Over
01/31/24	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	33	28	23	26	110	Under
01/31/24	Houston Rockets HOU	25	29	25	20	99	Under
12/23/23	Houston Rockets HOU	26	21	32	27	106	Under
12/23/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	24	27	33	20	104	Under
11/10/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	31	17	31	22	101	Under
11/10/23	Houston Rockets HOU	26	28	16	34	104	Under
03/19/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	38	26	28	25	117	Over
03/19/23	Houston Rockets HOU	28	16	34	29	107	Over
03/17/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	26	28	36	22	112	Over
03/17/23	Houston Rockets HOU	31	18	31	34	114	Over
01/04/23	Houston Rockets HOU	22	30	21	35	108	Over
01/04/23	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	45	30	23	21	119	Over
11/12/22	Houston Rockets HOU	26	24	37	19	106	Over
11/12/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	34	29	23	33	119	Over
03/13/22	Houston Rockets HOU	32	23	17	33	105	Over
03/13/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	29	39	30	32	130	Over
02/08/22	Houston Rockets HOU	30	23	23	21	97	Under
02/08/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	35	29	22	24	110	Under
02/06/22	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	26	23	38	33	120	Over
02/06/22	Houston Rockets HOU	21	33	23	30	107	Over
12/05/21	New Orleans Pelicans NOP	26	23	36	23	108	Over
12/05/21	Houston Rockets HOU	28	29	37	24	118	Over

Rockets Vs Over/Under

Pelicans Vs Over/Under

Rockets Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/22	vs TOR	114-110W	53	18	21	89
12/19	@ NOP	133-113W	42	34	11	87
12/14	vs OKL	96-111L	49	17	16	96
12/11	@ GSW	91-90W	36	23	16	83
12/08	vs LAC	117-106W	50	23	15	82
12/05	vs GSW	93-99L	45	20	8	93
12/03	vs SAC	111-120L	53	14	15	93
12/01	@ OKL	119-116W	51	20	10	92
11/26	vs MIN	117-111W	44	31	10	99
11/23	@ POR	98-104L	43	17	9	90

Pelicans Recent Games

Date	vsOpp	Result	Reb	Ast	Tov	Shots
12/22	@ DEN	129-132L	43	37	13	108
12/21	@ NYK	93-104L	45	23	19	83
12/19	vs HOU	113-133L	37	25	12	92
12/15	vs IND	104-119L	49	18	18	97
12/12	@ SAC	109-111L	43	22	17	83
12/08	vs SAS	116-121L	43	26	8	99
12/07	@ OKL	109-119L	35	25	18	79
12/05	@ PHX	126-124W	44	23	13	95
12/02	vs ATL	112-124L	41	21	16	100
12/01	vs NYK	85-118L	42	20	14	94

Starting Lineups

Houston Rockets	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Jalen Green SG	33.0	33.5	31.5	100%	31.9
Alperen Sengun C	45.0	41.0	44.2	100%	44.6
Jabari Smith Jr. PF	26.0	29.9	26.0	100%	26.4
Amen Thompson SF	32.0	27.9	25.5	23%	31.9
Fred VanVleet PG	37.0	28.9	36.3	100%	36.6

New Orleans Pelicans	Proj	L5	L15	S%	S/DFS
Herbert Jones SF	29.0	28.4	24.4	100%	24.8
CJ McCollum SG	38.0	36.3	39.0	100%	39.3
Yves Missi C	34.0	29.4	25.5	78%	26.5
Trey Murphy III PF	38.0	35.6	33.3	93%	34.0
Dejounte Murray PG	45.0	43.7	46.4	100%	46.8

Rockets Notable Injuries

Dillon Brooks (SG/SF): Avg: 13.2pts, 3.5reb, 1.6ast, 31.1 minutes. Last game: 12/22/24. Impact: 4.9

Pelicans Notable Injuries

Trey Jemison (C): Avg: 5.2pts, 4.4reb, 0.8ast, 18.3 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 1.4
Jamal Cain (SF): Avg: 4.1pts, 1.9reb, 0.5ast, 11.7 minutes. Last game: 12/15/24. Impact: 1.9
Antonio Reeves (SG/SF): Avg: 4.8pts, 1.2reb, 0.5ast, 10.1 minutes. Last game: 12/19/24. Impact: 1.5

Top Player Props

This article, published more than 6 hours prior to game time, focuses exclusively on Over prop bets due to the propensity for NBA teams to make last-minute injury adjustments. For the most current prop bets, including any updates closer to tip-off, please refer to the link provided below the table.

		Stat				Over %				Opposing Defense/Game
Player	Team	Prop	Line	Proj	Diff	L5	L10	L15	L30	Opp	Stat	Rank
Dejounte Murray	NOP	Pts	18.5	22.2	+3.7	40%	30%	33%	33%	HOU	+0.9	#23
Yves Missi	NOP	Pts	10.5	12.7	+2.2	40%	50%	53%	53%	HOU	-2.5	#5
Herbert Jones	NOP	Reb	3.5	4.3	+0.8	80%	60%	60%	60%	HOU	+0.8	#26
Fred VanVleet	HOU	Reb	3.5	3.8	+0.3	60%	50%	60%	60%	NOP	+0.3	#21
CJ McCollum	NOP	Ast	4.5	4.6	+0.1	40%	50%	40%	40%	HOU	-0.8	#4

View All Player Prop Projections

Rockets Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#5	#29	#1	#10	-2.4%
PF	#3	#1	#3	#1	-16.9%
PG	#23	#26	#15	#25	5.7%
SF	#1	#24	#1	#2	-14.2%
SG	#9	#12	#4	#6	-7.1%

Pelicans Defense vs

Position	Pts	Reb	Ast	Overall	vs NBA
C	#25	#26	#24	#29	8.4%
PF	#25	#22	#24	#26	7.0%
PG	#22	#21	#29	#27	7.4%
SF	#24	#10	#7	#20	2.3%
SG	#19	#27	#19	#24	5.2%

Team Comparison

Points per Game

112.3

105.8

Rebounds per Game

49.4

43.3

Assists per Game

22.8

23.8

Steals per Game

8.8

9.2

Blocks per Game

5.5

5.2

Shots per Game

92.9

89.8

3-Pointers Made per Game

11.5

11.0

2-Pt Percentage per Game

52.0

50.1

3-Pt Percentage per Game

32.6

33.1

Turnovers per Game

13.0

14.7

Fouls per Game

19.9

18.6

Recent Trends

Brandon Boston Jr. (PG/SF): 3 Game Minutes avg dropped 36.7% to 17.8, 28.2 min average previous 3 games.
Jamal Cain (SF): 3 Game Minutes avg dropped 41.7% to 11.1, 19.1 min average previous 3 games.