Sengun and Tari Eason have improved in the shooting department, while Jabari Smith Jr. has continued to be efficient. Reed Sheppard, the second-year guard who has stepped up tremendously in the absence of Fred VanVleet, is averaging 5.7 threes attempted per game, but shooting a staggering 44.4%.

Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.

The Nuggets benefitted from one of their replacement games after the NBA Cup last season. Their task this week is to prevent Houston from taking advantage of a lucky draw.

These are two of the best offenses in the Association, and my Rockets vs. Nuggets predictions and NBA picks expect a high-scoring matchup in Mile High. The Houston Rockets are 13-9 to the Over this season, and the Denver Nuggets are 16-8 to the Over. Houston is 8-4 to the Over as the road team, and Denver is 7-3.

The Houston Rockets will take on the Denver Nuggets on Monday, December 15 as the night’s featured Western Conference game on Peacock NBA Monday. Tipoff time is set for 9:30 p.m. ET from Ball Arena in Denver, and the game will be streamed live exclusively on Peacock.

BOTTOM LINE: Denver hosts Houston looking to end its four-game home slide. The Nuggets are 13-5 in conference games. Denver averages 125.5 points while outscoring opponents by 9.6 points per game. The Rockets are 9-5 in Western Conference play. Houston is fifth in the NBA scoring 120.6 points per game while shooting 48.6%.

The final name on the list comes within the top five. Alperen Sengun has emerged as a potential franchise cornerstone for the Rockets at just 23 years old. The Turkish center made his first All-Star appearance last season, and has built upon that, averaging 23 points, 9.4 rebounds and seven assists per game thus far.

On ESPN’s latest under-25 NBA rankings, Rockets stars Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson came in at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively.