Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans 11/11/19 NBA Betting Odds and Preview

The Houston Rockets travel to the Big Easy to take on the Charlotte Hornets at the Smoothie King Center on Monday, November 11, 2019.

The Rockets have won three in a row and are looking for their first four-game win streak of the season. The Pelicans snapped their three-game losing streak in their last outing. New Orleans will try to win back to back games for the first time this season.

It’s Working, So Far

When the Rockets traded for Russell Westbrook last summer, a lot of people were shaking their heads. The Rockets have a ball-dominant star in James Harden and they were adding an equally ball-hungry player in Westbrook. But we’ve seen Mike D’Antoni work wonders before and so far, the Harden-Westbrook tandem is working for the Rockets who are on top of the Southwest Division at 6-3 SU on the season.

Harden is averaging 37.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game while Westbrook is putting up 21.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game this season for the Rockets. Clint Capela is having a double-double season with 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.

The Rockets are the 2nd best scoring team in the NBA at 120.1 points per game. They are 8th in rebounding at 46.7 boards hauled per contest. Houston is also 13th in passing at 24.7 assists per game but the Rockets allow the 6th most post per game this season at 118.7.

Waiting For Zion

The New Orleans Pelicans are still waiting for Zion Williamson to return to action. The top pick of the 2019 NBA Draft is still on the mend after suffering a knee injury. Without their prized rookie, the Pelicans have struggled to a 2-7 SU start this season. The Pelicans are also struggling at home where they are just 1-3 SU to start the year.

Brandon Ingram is having a fantastic start in his new home. The former Lakers forward is averaging 25.9 points and 7.3 rebounds to lead the Pelicans. Jrue Holiday is putting up 14.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game for New Orleans. The Pelicans have seven players who are scoring at least 9 points per game this season.

The Pelicans rank 5th in the league in scoring at 117.1 points per game. They are 14th off the glass with an average of 46.0 points per game this season and are 2nd in passing at 26.9 assists per game. New Orleans has the worst scoring defense in the NBA at 122.4 opponent points per game allowed.

Who Wins?

Houston is 6-2 SU in their last eight games played. The Rockets are 3-2 SU in their last five games played, 4-1 SU in their last five games against the Western Conference and 6-1 SU in their last seven games against the Southwest Division. New Orleans is 2-8 SU in their last 10 games played and 2-14 SU in their last 16 home games. The Pelicans are 1-3 SU in four road games played this season and 1-5 SU in six games as NBA betting underdogs. Head to head, the Rockets are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games against the Pelicans.

The Pelicans snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Charlotte Hornets on the road. But in that game, they committed 26 turnovers while playing without point guard Lonzo Ball who is out with a groin injury. New Orleans is next to last when it comes to turnovers and if Ball continues to miss this game because he is still listed as questionable, that will be a problem.

Houston has defied their critics who said that a Harden-Westbrook tandem won’t work for them. This is a team that is ranked 2nd in the league in scoring and is also 4th in steals. Harden and Westbrook have been putting up ridiculous numbers, either one at a time or together.

Both teams don’t play much defense at all but the Rockets have the superior team and talent. They also like to pick up steals and if Ball isn’t playing here, I expect the Rockets to putt the pressure on the New Orleans ball handlers and create fastbreak opportunities with their ability to steal the ball.
Prediction: Houston Rockets

Other Bets To Make

The Rockets are 3-6 ATS in their nine games played and Houston is 2-3 ATS in five road games played so far. New Orleans is 6-12 SU in their last 18 games played and 1-3 ATS in four home games played this season. The Pelicans are also 1-4 ATS in their last five November games played but are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Monday games. Head to head, the Pelicans are 6-3 ATS in their last nine games played against the Rockets.

Houston has outscored New Orleans by five points per game in their last 10 meetings and seven points per game in their most recent three encounters. The Rockets barely beat the Pelicans when they first met this season as Houston escaped with a three-point win on October 26, 2019. But the Rockets have been playing well as of late, winning their last three games by a combined margin of 47 points. The Pelicans are still without Zion and maybe without Lonzo Ball as well. I know the Pels are at home here but their last four losses have been by double digits.

Prediction: Rockets -4.5

The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by the Rockets. The under is 4-1 in Houston’s five road games played this year. The total has gone over in 11 out of the last 16 games played by New Orleans and the over is 3-1 in their four home games this season. The total has gone over in eight out of the last 10 games of the Pelicans against the Western Conference. Head to head, the under is 5-4-1 in the last 10 games between the Rockets and Pelicans. These teams have also seen the total go under in 15 out of the last 20 games played in New Orleans.

These teams have combined to score 226.2 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 229.66 points per game in their last three games played. Houston has gone above the 244 total only twice this season while New Orleans has seen the total go over 244 points four times this season. The Rockets are the 2nd highest-scoring team in the league right now at 120.1 points per game while the Pelicans are 5th in that department at 117.1 points per game. These teams are in the bottom six in scoring defense with New Orleans being the worst defensive team in the NBA right now. 244 is quite high a total but these teams don’t know what defense means. I like these teams to go on a scoring spree here.
Prediction: Over 244