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The Charlotte Hornets will travel to New York City to take on the New York Knicks in a Wednesday night NBA matchup at Madison Square Garden. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes a Hornets-Knicks prediction and pick, laid out below.
Charlotte has gone 2-1 to begin their season, splitting their first two and winning the third. Charlotte went 43-39 last season, yet missed the playoffs after finishing tenth in the Eastern Conference. Once LaMelo Bell returns from his injury, this could be a lethal offense.
New York is also 2-1 this season, winning their last two after dropping the season opener. The Knicks have excited the city with their first decent stretch in a while, going 37-45 to narrowly miss the play-in round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. New York made the playoffs in the 2020-21 season before losing in five in the first round of the playoffs.
Here are the Hornets-Knicks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Hornets-Knicks Odds
Charlotte Hornets: +7.5 (-110)
New York Knicks: -7.5 (-110)
Over: 226 (-110)
Under: 226 (-110)
Why The Hornets Could Cover The Spread
No Lamelo Ball, no problem thus far for Charlotte. Unfortunately, now Terry Rozier is also likely to miss about a week with an ankle injury. The electric guard missed the team's last game against Atlanta and is doubtful for tonight's game. Rozier leads the team in scoring at 23.5 points and 8.5 assists per game. Gordon Hayward ranks second with 19.3 points per game, shooting 55 percent from the field. Nick Richards is averaging fifteen points per game and leads the team with nine rebounds per game.
Dennis Smith, Jr. has seen an expanded role, averaging 13.3 points and 4.7 assists per game. Smith, Jr. has not played in more than 50 games in a season since 2018-19 but can likely carve out a role when Ball and Rozier return. Kelly Oubre, Jr. is putting up 17.3 points per game, shooting 46.5 percent, and pulling in 6.0 rebounds per game. Oubre, Jr. and Smith, Jr. both lead the team with 2.3 steals per game. Charlotte is averaging 7.7 steals per game this season.
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Charlotte owns the league's best offense, averaging 122.3 points per game, which paces the league. Their 28.0 assists per game rank fifth in the league. Charlotte's defense has been so-so, ranking 15th by allowing 111.7 points per game.
Why The Knicks Could Cover The Spread
Jalen Brunson has impressed after getting signed to run the offense, leading the team with seven assists per game. Brunson also ranks second with 17.7 points per game. Julius Randle leads the team with 21.3 points per game, shooting 51.1 percent from the field, and has pulled down 9.7 rebounds per game to lead the team. Isaiah Hartenstein is with 9.3 rebounds per game while averaging 9.7 points per game.
RJ Barrett continues to be a force for the Knicks, averaging 16.3 points to go along with 5.7rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Cam Reddish is shooting 55.6 percent from the field, averaging 11.7 points per game. Evan Fournier is shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range, averaging 10.0 points per game.
New York’s offense has been dominant, ranking fifth in the league with 119.0 points per game and third with 51.3 rebounds per game. The defense has been good as well, allowing just 107.7 points per game, which ranks eighth in the league.
Final Hornets-Knicks Prediction & Pick
Charlotte is hurting at the guard position, giving New York the advantage. These are also two very high-scoring offenses.
Final Hornets-Knicks Prediction & Pick: New York -7.5 (-110), over 226 (-110)
