Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Pelicans game preview

The last time the Rockets and Pelicans met on January 27, DeMarcus Cousins sacrificed his Achilles to give New Orleans the win. Injuries suck, and this one was especially tough since Boogie was repairing his reputation while also producing big numbers in a contract season.

Hopefully for Cousins, he’ll come back at 100% and will still get a mega-contract from one of the few teams that have space for him.

Luckily for the Pelicans, Anthony Davis has stepped up into the Cousins void and was deservedly rewarded with Western Conference Player of the Month honors in February. He’s averaging 28/11 with a couple of blocks, assists, and steals per game on 53% shooting from the field and 35% from deep. He’s super good.

AD isn’t the only weapon for the Pelicans. Jrue Holiday has been having a really good season despite Rajon Rondo taking away some the ballhandling duties. E’Twaun Moore has also put together some good games against Houston in the past and this season. New Orleans has also added Nikola Mirotic since that January 27 meeting.

Houston is likely to get Ryan Anderson back tonight. While Houston would probably like to start resting players a la the Warriors, Houston’s next three games are all against playoff teams on the road so the Rockets will need to be at full-strength. After this road trip, Houston returns home for five home games to close out March, with four of those games coming against lottery-bound teams. That’s when the Rockets can start looking at rest.

Tip-off is at 6pm CT