Hawks vs Hornets Prediction
The Atlanta Hawks visit the Charlotte Hornets, with both teams desperate to win and improve their playoff chances.
The Hawks are in ninth place in the standings, one game behind the Nets while the Hornets are a half-game behind Atlanta. Here’s a complete breakdown, including betting odds and free NBA picks.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Charlotte Hornets
Wednesday, March 16, 2022 – 07:00 PM EDT at Spectrum Center
The Hornets opened at -2.5 at Pinnacle and as I write this, sportsbooks haven’t set the total in their NBA odds board. FiveThirtyEight has the Hornets as 1.5-point home favorites, projecting them to win 56 percent of the time. Should we back the home team laying points or hammer the total once it’s available?
Trae and LaMelo Shined on Monday
The Hawks (34-34 SU, 28-40 ATS) are heating up at the right time, winning their last three games, though they haven’t covered the spread in six straight contests. Atlanta is coming off a 122-113 home win against Portland on Monday as 14-point favorites.
Trae Young scored 21 of his 46 points in the third quarter and the Hawks erased a 15-point second half deficit. Young had scored 47 points in a win over the Pacers on Sunday, and he added 12 assists against the Trail Blazers. According to Elias Sports, Young is the first player in the NBA with at least 40 points on back-to-back nights this season.
The Hornets (34-35 SU, 37-30-2 ATS) have won three of their last five games, including two in a row, straight up and against the spread. They’re coming off a convincing 134-116 road win against the Thunder on Monday, as 11.5-point favorites.
Terry Rozier led the way with 30 points, helping the Hornets rally from as many as 18 points down in the second quarter. Miles Bridges finished with 27 points and six assists and LaMelo Ball added 21 points and seven assists for a Hornets team that went 20 for 35 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
Prediction
“We were just preaching that we had to move the ball,” Miles Bridges said after Monday’s win against the Thunder. “Anytime we move the ball, we get any shot we want. … We were getting a lot of open 3s and knocking them down.”
The Hawks rank just 28th in the league, allowing opponents to make 36.5 percent of their 3-point attempts and the Hornets have to keep moving the ball to get open looks and knock them down, just like they did on Monday.
Atlanta also shoots the lights out from distance, making 37.0 percent of their attempts (third in the league) and Charlotte lets opponents shoot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc (21st in the NBA). This will be very high total, but all signs point toward both teams lighting up the scoreboard thanks to their 3-point shooting. Enjoy the game and find more NBA picks here.
NBA Pick: Over at BetOnline