Charlotte Hornets vs. Boston Celtics: Odds, injuries, storylines, and how to watch

Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets, and Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets, and Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The Charlotte Hornets take on the Boston Celtics on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. est. This is a game that could be pivotal for the Eastern Conference as the Hornets currently hold a 1.5 game lead on the Celtics, but the Celtics could take a 2-0 series lead over the Hornets if they were to win tonight. The two teams face off four times this season.

Charlotte is coming off of a big win in The Garden against the New York Knicks, a game that they won 97-87, and saw Miles Bridges score his career-high in points with 38. On the flip side, the Celtics are coming off of a strong 104-92 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games which is cause to believe that this will be an exciting matchup.

Charlotte Hornets odds vs. Boston Celtics

The Hornets enter tonight’s game as 3-point underdogs to the Celtics, according to WynnBET. The Hornets are 2nd in the league in pace, while the Celtics rank 29th in their last 10 games. If the Hornets can play their game I would bet on them to pull off the upset. Additionally, the Moneyline for the Hornets sits at +130, which is worth a look.

Streaming info for Charlotte Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

TV: Bally Sports Southeast, ESPN
Radio: WFNZ 610

The Hornets are on ESPN tonight in this pivotal Eastern Conference showdown. Will the curse of national TV strike us again? If it does we’ll have to write an article about it.

Storylines for Charlotte Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

The first matchup between these two teams produced some fireworks. It took an extra quarter of overtime to settle this game that Boston ultimately won 140-129. Jayson Tatum scored 41 points and Jaylen Brown added 30 of his own that night. Dennis Schroeder also had 23, 9 of which came in overtime. The Hornets, who had a chance to win it in regulation, should hopefully have this game on their minds as they come out to even the series.

We all know the Hornets are a very bad defensive team, but in their last 10 games, Charlotte is 4th in the league in defensive rating, according to statmuse. I know none of you reading this believes that, heck, I don’t even believe that. However, something the Hornets are doing recently seems to be working and it’s reflecting on the scoreboard and stat sheet. It’s not pretty, but it’s working for now. What we should be wondering is how long they can keep this up because it can’t possibly last much longer.

In their first matchup against Boston, LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges went toe to toe with Celtics superstars Tatum and Brown. Both Ball and Bridges finished with 25 points each but couldn’t finish the job. A lot has happened since that game and Charlotte’s young duo has grown up a lot on the court. These two are always must-see TV, but tonight I’ll be keeping a closer eye on them.

Injury Report for Charlotte Hornets vs. Boston Celtics

Hornets:

Kelly Oubre Jr. (health and safety protocols) – QUESTIONABLE

Celtics:

Marcus Smart (health and safety protocols) – QUESTIONABLE

Aaron Nesmith (ankle) – QUESTIONABLE

As always, follow us on Twitter for live game updates and check back here for post-game content.