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With two games remaining in the regular season, the Charlotte Hornets (19-61) and Boston Celtics (59-21) begin the first of a two-game series to end the year on Friday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Hornets-Celtics prediction and pick.
The Hornets will miss the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, entering the matchup on a five-game skid and winners of just 12 games in the current calendar year. Without LaMelo Ball or Brandon Miller, Charlotte has been knee-deep in tank mode for several weeks and could not reach the finish line any sooner. The Hornets are coming off a 126-96 blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
The Celtics are also coming off a Wednesday night loss, falling to the Orlando Magic 96-76. The result meant nothing in the big picture with Boston already locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Before the defeat, the Celtics won 12 of their previous 13 outings, including a gritty 119-117 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
Here are the Hornets-Celtics NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Hornets-Celtics Odds
Charlotte Hornets: +19 (-110)
Moneyline: +1200
Boston Celtics: -19 (-110)
Moneyline: -2500
Over: 214.5 (-110)
Under: 214.5 (-110)
How To Watch Hornets vs. Celtics
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
TV: Fanduel Sports Network Southeast and NBC Sports Boston
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why the Hornets Will Cover the Spread/Win
The Celtics are fully in coast mode after clinching a top seed in the playoffs. That was fully evident in their 20-point loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. All five starters sat out for the game, with only Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser taking the court as key rotational players.
While the Hornets are in a similar position of resting most of their key players, it is an entirely different circumstance. As an organization, Boston is desperately crawling to the finish line. But the players on the court are fighting for their professional careers, with most of them in their only chance to show out on an NBA setting. Of them, Nick Smith Jr., Tidjane Salaun and K.J. Simpson continue to impress.
With seeding already determined, expect some — if not all — of the Celtics starters to collect another day of rest. In a potential battle between the reserves, the Hornets are the side that have more to play for in their personal careers. Similar spots have served as a “trap” game for the contending team that has no true feelings on the outcome.
Why the Celtics Will Cover the Spread/Win
Talent for talent, the Celtics are simply the better team on both ends of the court. The issue will come down to personnel after Boston rested its top six players against the Magic. Regardless, even in a backups vs. backups affair, it can be argued that the Celtics still have the better roster. Coming off two full days of rest, Boston could look to place a couple of starters back into the lineup solely to stay in rhythm ahead of the playoffs.
Although officially coming off a one-day rest period, the Celtics essentially have the rest advantage, not truly playing since Tuesday. In matchups when holding the rest advantage, Boston is 15-2 on the year with an 88.2 percent win rate, the second-best in the league. When playing at a rest disadvantage, the Hornets are just 4-12, translating to a win percentage of 25 percent, the fifth-worst.
With nothing to play for, the Celtics might not want to put their full team back on the court, but expect at least half of the starting lineup back. Even if it is only for one half, any number of Boston's best lineup blows the Hornets' out of the water.
Final Hornets-Celtics Prediction & Pick
The Celtics have actual stakes on the line in this game, whereas the Hornets have had nothing on the line other than draft positioning for months. On paper, Boston is coming off a putrid 76-point game against the Magic, but all that game did was give the starters an extra day of rest on the second night of a back-to-back. The injury report could be key, but expect a full Celtics team back on the court as they look to lock up the No. 2 seed.
Not only have the Hornets been losing lately, but they have been falling well short of their already low expectations. Charlotte is just 1-9 against the spread in its last 10 games and 6-14 in its last 20. That includes seven games lined as a double-digit underdog. While their 36-44 ATS record on the year is not terrible, their covering success rate has fallen off a cliff late in the season.
With a pair of games against the Hornets remaining on the schedule, there is not much for the Celtics to look forward to other than the playoffs. But with the play-in tournament already set to give Boston a short break ahead of the playoffs, expect Joe Mazulla to play his starters for at least a half. Seventy-five percent of the Celtics is still enough to cover against a team solely looking to collect lottery balls.
Final Hornets-Celtics Prediction & Pick: Celtics -19 (-110), Under 214.5 (-110)
