The Rockets Should have the Advantage in Several Areas When They Face the Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Houston Rockets should be able to take advantage as the Pelicans rank near the bottom in almost every major category.

Feb 22, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) grabs a rebound against New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets' weird schedule to start the year, with multiple days off between games, has come to an end, as they will play every other day or on back-to-back days over the next several days. In fact, the Rockets will have at most one day off between games until January 23rd. The Rockets travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans after their tough, controversial loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

When you are a team expected to compete for a championship and especially a team in the Western Conference you cant have many losing streaks. That is why it is important for the Rockets to quickly move past the loss on Monday and not take the Pelicans for granted.

The Pelicans are off to another disappointing start to the season, dealing with the annual occurrence of Zion Williamson missing games, and are off to a 5-22 start, which is the second-worst record in the NBA, only ahead of the equally bad Washington Wizards. Williamson has already missed 16 games. Willamson recently returned after missing two weeks due to a grade 2 hip adductor strain.

Williamson will be in the lineup tonight against the Rockets. Still, even with the off-injured star back, the Rockets will have the advantage in several categories, as the Rockets should be able to exploit the Pelicans' many weaknesses.

The Pelicans Are Near the Bottom in Several Major Categories

The Rockets at 16-7 have been near the top of the league in several categories, including points per game, offensive rating, 3-point percentage, points allowed per game, defensive rating, and, of course, the best rebounding team in the NBA. The Pelicans have been on the opposite side of the rankings in most major categories.

For the season, the Pelicans rank 23rd in points per game, 24th in 3-point percentage, 27th in assists, 28th in points allowed, and last in points allowed coming out of halftime. That is just a few of the categories in which the Pelicans rank last or near the bottom. There are many more areas at the bottom of the league, but this would turn into a much longer article if we went through them all.

The Rockets should be able to score at will, especially with Sengun and Kevin Durant more than likely drawing double teams all night against the Pelicans' poor defense, and with the Pelicans ranking last in 3-point attempts allowed per game, the Rockets may actually attempt more than their league-low 30 attempts per game.

The Rockets are by far the better team, but as anyone who watches the NBA knows, any team can win in the NBA on a night-in and night-out basis if you don't take care of business as the better team.