Rockets vs Pelicans prediction NBA · Thursday, December 18
At a glance
The New Orleans Pelicans (5-22) host the Houston Rockets (16-7) on Thursday, December 18 at 8:00 PM ET at Smoothie King Center in NBA action. Final score: Rockets 128 – Pelicans 133. Before tip-off, the Basketlog model gave the Rockets a 83% chance to win: prediction missed. This season, the Pelicans are 3-12 at home and the Rockets are 8-5 on the road. Over the last 10 games: 3-7 for the Pelicans and 6-4 for the Rockets (current streaks: Pelicans W2, Rockets L1).
The analysis Model
The Rockets start with a clear edge. The model projects Pelicans 110 – 122 Rockets, a margin of about 12.0 points in favor of the Rockets and a total around 232 points. Expect a game at a standard NBA pace.
- The overall strength gap (-7.5 vs +6.7 pts/game) is the main factor.
- The Pelicans need to win the pace battle to stay in the game.
- The Rockets' offense (118.6 pts/game) is the more productive of the two.
- The Rockets' defense allows clearly fewer points (110.7 pts/game).
What tips the balance
Scenarios
Stat comparison Current season
HOUNO
Top performers
Rockets
Kevin DurantF · #732pts / game
Alperen SengunC · #288assists
Jabari Smith Jr.F · #1012reboundsPelicans
Saddiq BeyG · #4129pts / game
Jose AlvaradoG · #56assists
Derik QueenC · #2212reboundsRecent form
HOUNOHead-to-head
HOU lead 3-1 this season.
HOU
Team comparison
| HOU | NO | |
|---|---|---|
| 16-7 | Record | 5-22 |
| 118.6 | Points scored / game | 112.8 |
| 110.7 | Points allowed / game | 121.7 |
| +6.7 | Adjusted margin / game | -7.5 |
| L1 | Current streak | W2 |
| 6-4 | Last 10 games | 3-7 |
| 8-5 road | Home / road record | 3-12 home |
| 52-30 (+4.5) | Last season | 21-61 (-9.4) |
| No | Played yesterday | No |
Injury report Rockets
Injury report Pelicans
Probabilities estimated by the Basketlog model from available public data. They are neither a certainty nor betting advice.