Houston is dead last in the West with a brutal 2-10 record and are coming off a 116-109 road loss against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday. New Orleans is eighth in the West with a 6-6 record and are coming off a 106-95 home loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. 

The Houston Rockets went on the road and lost to the Toronto Raptors by a final score of 116-109. They came out firing, scoring 37 points in the first quarter, but failed to keep the pressure on offensively. They finished shooting 37-of-84 (44 percent) overall, 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) from three, and 31 free-throw attempts. Shooting guard Jalen Green played 40 minutes and finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Defensively, they need to continue the pressure as they recorded seven blocks and nine steals. They scored 31 points off turnovers and need to continue forcing the hands if they want to win games going forward.

The offense has been struggling a bit as they are currently 20th in the sport with 110.3 points per game. Their 43.3 field goal percentage is only ahead of the Detroit Pistons this season, but they are sixth in the NBA with 25.1 free-throw attempts up to this point. Their defense is struggling as they are 26th in the sport with 117.8 points per game allowed as well. Houston was able to force tied for seventh in the NBA with a few teams with 15.1 turnovers per game as well. They are a young team and

The Pelicans also lost their last game as they were defeated at home by the Trail Blazers 106-95. They did a good job as they shot 33-of-79 (41.8 percent) throughout the game, 10-of-28 (35.7 percent) from beyond the arc, and 24 trips to the charity stripe. Power forward Zion Williamson led all scorers with 29 points while adding six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in his 32 minutes of action. On the defensive side of things, they allowed Portland to grab 11 offensive rebounds and just nine turnovers. They need to be better in those two aspects to win these games.

New Orleans is eighth in the NBA currently with 116.3 points per game and tied for fourth with 47.9 percent from the floor up to this point. They also have a lot of size as they are sixth in the league with 12.4 offensive rebounds per game right now and that is a huge strength. The Pelicans are right in the middle as they are 16th in basketball with 113.6 points per game given up. A huge plus has been the fact they have a 32.9 three-point percentage against, which is fifth in the NBA as well.