The Houston Rockets are in the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference heading into Sunday\u2019s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, who have dropped four games in a row.<\/p>\n
New Orleans has moved up to the No. 11 spot in the West, as it has no incentive to lose at this point in the season. The Pels don\u2019t own their draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, so they\u2019ve tried to get the most out of their core, especially since Dejounte Murray (Achilles) returned to the lineup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Murray and Trey Murphy III are both questionable on Sunday, which has led to oddsmakers setting the Pels as home underdogs against Houston.<\/p>\n
The Rockets can still move up in the West standings, but some poor offense as of late has knocked them back in the latest odds to win the NBA Finals. Over their last 10 games, the Rockets are just 22nd in offensive rating and they\u2019ve been a bottom-10 team in clutch offensive rating all season.<\/p>\n
Can they pick up a much-needed win over a non-playoff team on Sunday?<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at the odds, a player prop to consider and my prediction for Sunday\u2019s matchup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rockets vs. Pelicans Odds, Spread and Total<\/p>\n
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a><\/p>\n Spread<\/p>\n Rockets -6.5 (-102)Pelicans +6.5 (-118)<\/p>\n Moneyline<\/p>\n Rockets: -238Pelicans: +195<\/p>\n Total<\/p>\n 225.5 (Over -110\/Under -110)Rockets vs. Pelicans How to WatchDate: Sunday, March 29Time: 7:00 p.m. ESTVenue: Smoothie King CenterHow to Watch (TV): FanDuel Sports Network (Local), Space City NetworkRockets record: 44-29Pelicans record: 25-50Rockets vs. Pelicans Injury ReportsRockets Injury ReportSteven Adams \u2013 outFred VanVleet \u2013 outTristen Newton \u2013 outPelicans Injury ReportTrey Murphy III \u2013 questionableJosh Oduro \u2013 outDejounte Murray \u2013 questionableTrey Alexander \u2013 outHunter Dickinson \u2013 outBryce McGowens \u2013 outRockets vs. Pelicans Best NBA Prop BetsRockets Best NBA Prop BetTari Eason UNDER 1.5 3-Pointers Made (-194)<\/p>\n In today\u2019s best NBA props column<\/a>, I shared why Eason is an easy fade candidate for Houston:\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason has been in a massive shooting slump in the month of March, knocking down just 11.4 percent of his 3-point attempts across 14 games.<\/p>\n Eason hasn\u2019t made two 3-pointers in a game since February, and he\u2019s only recorded one make from beyond the arc in five of his 14 games in March.<\/p>\n So, even though we have to lay some juice with this prop, I\u2019m fading Eason on Sunday. The Rockets wing is attempting just 3.1 3-pointers per game this month, so asking him to make multiple 3s would also be expecting his best 3-point shooting game in over a month. I\u2019m not willing to do that, even against a suspect New Orleans defense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rockets vs. Pelicans Prediction and Pick<\/p>\n These teams have played three times in the 2025-26 season, with Houston winning two games by single digits and New Orleans taking one game in overtime.<\/p>\n The Rockets have won by over 6.5 points just one time against New Orleans, and I\u2019m not buying Houston as a road favorite in this game.<\/p>\n The Rockets actually rank worse than the Pelicans in net rating over their last 10 games (18th vs. 14th), and they\u2019ve struggled all season long as road favorites, going 11-19 against the spread.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, New Orleans is 16-11-1 against the spread as a home underdog. The Pels could be short-handed with Murray and Murphy on the injury report, but they\u2019re still getting two possessions at this current line.\u00a0<\/p>\n Houston may end up winning this game, but the Pels have played some close games over their last five, despite losing four of them. New Orleans upset the Clippers before losing by five points to Cleveland and five points to New York. I wouldn\u2019t be shocked if it hangs around at home, where it is 16-22 straight up this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pick: Pelicans +6.5 (-118 at DraftKings)<\/a><\/p>\n Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n Find Peter Dewey’s\u00a0NBA betting record here<\/a>\u00a0(futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on \u00a0BetStamp here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Claim the latest\u00a0DraftKings promo code<\/a>\u00a0offer today. Sign up and win your first $5 bet to get\u00a0$200 in bonus bets instantly.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Houston Rockets are in the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference heading into Sunday\u2019s matchup with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-686606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanspelicans","14":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116314260455401728","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}