Houston Rockets vs New Orleans Pelicans 2/6/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The New Orleans Pelicans and the Houston Rockets do battle at the Toyota Center on Sunday night.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been in decent shape as they’ve split their last 12 games and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after taking down the Nuggets in a 113-105 road win on Friday. Herbert Jones led the team with 25 points on eight of 10 shooting, Brandon Ingram added 23 points with 12 assists and two blocks, Jaxson Hayes scored 22 points with 11 rebounds while Jonas Valanciunas chipped in with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 56 percent from the field and eight of 25 from the 3-point line as they as they went back and forth with the Nuggets in a close contest until the fourth quarter where they closed the final 4:41 on a 16-8 run to escape with the upset win.

 Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have been in a rut as they’ve lost five of their past six games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting blown out by the Spurs in a 131-06 road loss on Friday. Joshua Christopher led the team in scoring with 23 points on seven of 13 shooting off the bench, Alperen Sengun added 18 points while Christian Wood chipped in with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Rockets shot 43 percent from the field and 11 of 33 from the 3-point line as they kept pace with the Spurs in the first half, before getting completely blown out by 74-52 in the second half as they just had no answers for the Spurs’ starters who were all firing in this one.

Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record, 5-0 ATS in their last five road games and 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games against a team with a losing record. The Rockets are 15-41 ATS in their last 56 home games, 21-46 ATS in their last 67 games against a team with a losing record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.

Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall and the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Houston.

The Pelicans will be shorthanded once again as Garrett Temple, Willy Hernangomez are both still out while Josh Hart is listed as questionable for this one. The Rockets have been in a funk with five losses in their last six games and their confidence took a major hit after getting blown out by the struggling Spurs on Friday. In contrast, the Pelicans have been playing much better lately and they just took down the Nuggets in a big upset on Friday. The Rockets could be worth a look if we were getting more points from the bookies, but with the line so short, I’m sticking with the Pelicans to get the win and cover in this one.