The NBA season continues on Wednesday. The Charlotte Hornets will hit the road and battle the Milwaukee Bucks. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Hornets-Bucks prediction and pick.
Both of these teams have had similar starts to the season. The Charlotte Hornets are 13-10 and are coming off back to back losses. While the Milwaukee Bucks are 13-8 and have actually won their last six games. This is an interesting match up and it should be a good game.
Here are the odds for the Hornets-Bucks Wednesday night NBA matchup, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Hornets-Bucks Odds
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Charlotte Hornets: +8.5 (-110)
Milwaukee Bucks: -8.5 (-110)
Over: 231 (-108)
Under: 231 (-112)
Why The Hornets Could Cover The Spread
The Charlotte Hornets have been struggling recently, but through 23 games they have given their fans reasons to be optimistic. The Hornets are coming off a 14 point loss against a very tough Chicago Bulls team. They will certainly be looking to turn things around on Wednesday. The Hornets are a very young team with a lot of talent. Anything can happen on any given night, and when this Charlotte team plays their best basketball they are very tough to stop. If the Hornets can come together and show why the hype around this team is deserved then they could definitely cover and even win this game.
Leading the way for Charlotte is LaMelo Ball. Last year's Rookie of the Year has not slowed down. LaMelo has taken his game to another level this season and is a big reason for this team's success. Against Chicago LaMelo dropped 18 points, dished out 13 assists, and grabbed 7 boards. The young guard has improved across every metric this season and has been able to help this Hornets team get wins. If LaMelo can keep on playing the way he has been playing the Charlotte should at least be competitive in this game. Expect another big night from LaMelo.
Another bright spot in this young Hornets team has been Terry Rozier. Scary Terry has been on a hot streak lately. He is coming off back to back 30+ point performances and has shown no signs of slowing down. Rozier's presence on the court can't be overstated. He has a big impact on this Hornets team and has shown that he can take over games when they need him to. If Terry Rozier can keep up this hot streak then the Hornets could definitely take down the reigning NBA champions. Scary Terry could definitely have another big night on the road.
Why The Bucks Could Cover The Spread
The Milwaukee Bucks were underwhelming at the start of the season. Many people had high hopes and expectations for the reigning NBA champions and they just weren't living up to it. A big reason for that was injuries. Not having Khris Middleton definitely impacted this Bucks team. However, it seems that they have bounced back in a big way. The Bucks have won their last seven games and have done so in impressive fashion. They are coming off an 18 point victory over the Indiana Pacers. If Milwaukee comes into this game ready for battle, the Hornets should not give them too much trouble.
The leader of this Bucks team is Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak is arguably the best player in the NBA. The league has yet to find an answer for him, and Giannis continues to dominate all of his opponents. Against the Pacers he had 26 points and 13 rebounds. This type of stat line is not atypical of Giannis. On the season he is averaging 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists a game. The Bucks are hot right now and the Greek Freak is a big reason for that. The Hornets will have a very tough time trying to contain Giannis, and he will prove to be a difference maker in this matchup.
As mentioned previously, the return of Khris Middleton has had a tremendous impact on this Bucks team. Middleton provides a second option to Giannis and helps spread the floor to make things easier on all of his teammates. Against Indiana, Middleton had 14 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. He has yet to have a breakout game since returning from injury, but just his presence on the court has positively impacted Milwaukee. If Middleton starts hitting shots against Charlotte then the Bucks could easily run away with this one. Even if he doesn't shot particularly well, the Bucks are good enough that they could still end up ahead.
Final Hornets-Bucks Prediction & Pick
The Hornets are a very good young team, but you never know how they're going to do. They have shown that they can be competitive against tough opponents, but they have also come up short against weaker opponents. Even with a wide spread you should lean towards picking the Bucks. Milwaukee has been consistently winning games by a wide margin and are definitely the safer pick in this match up. Pick the Bucks to win and cover and hope that the Hornets don't pick Wednesday to turn things around.
FINAL HORNETS-BUCKS PICK: Milwaukee Bucks -8.5 (-110)
FINAL HORNETS-BUCKS SCORE PREDICTION: Bucks 120 – Hornets 110
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