Spread & over/under predictions: Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards

Picks for tonight's Hornets game.

Ian Black | 18 Hours Ago

Dec 19, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (1) drives to the basket as Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) defends in the second quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

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Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets (7-22) head out for a quick one-game road trip on Thursday, this time headed to Washington to take on the Wizards (4-23).

Charlotte comes into the matchup having won only once in the month of December, desperate to recapture the energy and excitement that was present at the beginning of the season. Tre Mann is set to miss the matchup with a back injury, while Brandon Miller is listed as questionable.

On the other side, Washington has the worst record in the entire NBA, and a host of key players like Kyle Kuzma, Alex Sarr, and Bilal Coulibaly are listed as questionable for the matchup. One of those four wins on the season did come last week against the Hornets though, so there is room for optimism while they search for that fifth win.

Here are my picks for tonight's game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Star ratings (Strength of prediction):

1 Star - Not very confident
2 Star - A little confident
3 Star - Fairly confident
4 Star - Very confident
5 Star - Should be a lock to happen

Spread: Hornets -4

3-star play on the Hornets (-4): Frankly, this should be a four or five-star confidence pick for Charlotte at this line. The talent disparity and lingering injuries for Washington should be more than enough for the Hornets to clean up the worst team in the league.

In spite of the great matchup, counting on a Charlotte team that has lost thirteen of their last fourteen games- including a 123-11 defeat at the hands of the Wizards last week- and covered the spread just twice in their last nine games is not for the faint of heart.

There is a team in there somewhere that covered the spread in 11/15 games prior to the current 2/9 skid. The question is whether this obvious get-right opportunity can actually be converted.

Over/Under: 227.5

1-star play on the under: The game just last week between these two teams hit a total of 137, and both teams have had three days off, both generally good signs for the over again.

With that said, the Holiday yesterday has the potential for lethargy to become a factor, and neither team is hitting the over as often as they are the under lately. Both teams find themselves in the bottom five in the league in offensive rating, and the defensive ratings for these teams are marginally better.

Avoiding this line between two young and volatile teams would be the preference here, but the under feels justifiable.

My picks this season:

ATS: 11-6 (64.7%)

O/U: 8-9 (47.1%)

Overall: 19-15 (55.9%)

Odds Disclaimer

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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