The Houston Rockets host the Charlotte Hornets for a Wednesday night NBA matchup between two young teams in the Association. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Rockets-Hornets prediction and pick.

This is basically a battle between two of the worst teams in the NBA. So it will be interesting to see which squad comes out on top.

Houston has yet to get on the win column this season and is coming off a 106-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Rockets were right there with the Warriors throughout the game until Stephen Curry took over with four three-pointers down the stretch. Jalen Green led Houston with 21 points on 8-of-20 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, while Alperen Sengun tallied 19 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.

Meanwhile, the Hornets are coming off back-to-back losses after a season-opening win over the Atlanta Hawks, with the latest being a 133-121 defeat to the Brooklyn Nets. Brandon Miller continued his stellar start to his rookie campaign with 22 points, nine rebounds, and two three-pointers in 36 minutes off the bench. Terry Rozier also had a near double-double with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Rockets-Hornets Odds

Houston Rockets: -2.5 (-110)

Charlotte Hornets: +2.5 (-110)

Over: 222.5 (-110)

Under: 222.5 (-110)

How to Watch Rockets vs. Hornets

Time: 8:00 ET/ 5:00 PT

TV: Space City Home Network (Houston)

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Rockets Could Cover The Spread

The Rockets are the slight favorite in this contest, despite having gone winless through three games so far. Houston already dropped its first game of what looks like a brutal seven-game home stand. After Charlotte on Wednesday, they get the Kings in back-to-back games, followed by the Lakers, Pelicans, and finally the defending champion Nuggets to close it out. Look for them to take advantage of this game against a lowly team like the Hornets.

On paper, Houston should be a lot better than what its win column suggests, simply because it has the personnel to actually be competitive now. The team signed several free agents in the offseason, led by Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.

VanVleet has been rather erratic in his first three games as a Rocket. He scored 14 points in his Houston debut, then had a near triple-double with 24 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists in his next game against the San Antonio Spurs, which was their most competitive game of the year so far. The point guard then followed that up with a 2-of-13 shooting night (eight points) against Golden State.

Brooks, meanwhile, has been a bit more consistent. The Mississauga, Ontario native is averaging 14.3 points on 53.3 percent field goal shooting.

The story so far for Houston is the emergence of Alperen Sengun. The Turkish big man is turning into one of the focal points of the Rockets' offense and is averaging 19.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists while shooting 54.5 percent from the field.

Jalen Green is also slowly coming along after a disastrous season-opener that saw him shoot just 2-of-10 from the field for 10 points. Over his last two Green has scored 43 points combined on 45 percent field goal shooting.

The Rockets are still without sophomore wing Tari Eason, who could be out for a couple more weeks due to a stress reaction in his left leg.

With their three losses, the Rockets have also failed to cover the spread in each defeat. But they are 1-2 in the over/under.

Why The Hornets Could Cover The Spread

The Hornets embark on a three-game road trip after a three-game home stand to begin the season. So look for them to come out to try to get on the right note. Charlotte was 14-27 away from Spectrum Center a year ago and was 12-18 against Western Conference teams.

Terry Rozier has led the team in scoring so far with 22.3 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting.

Brandon Miller is playing much better than expected, especially since he had a rough preseason and Summer League. The No. 2 overall pick is averaging 17.3 points (3rd on team) while shooting 47.4 percent from the field, including 43.8 percent from beyond the arc.

LaMelo Ball has struggled out of the gates, shooting just 25.0 percent from the field en route to just scoring 43 points so far in three games. Nonetheless, he is still distributing the rock quite well with 9.0 assists per contest.

Cody Martin (knee), Frank Ntilikina (lower leg), and James Bouknight (knee) are all still out for the foreseeable future.

Final Rockets-Hornets Prediction & Pick

Expect the Rockets to finally notch win No. 1 in this one and show that they are the more veteran-laden team. They would not want to drop this one and possibly get off to a 0-9 start by the end of this road trip, considering the strength of the opponents they have on the docket.

Final Rockets-Hornets Prediction & Pick: Houston Rockets: -2.5 (-110), Under: 222.5 (-110)