Hornets vs. Nuggets Preview: Odds, Lines, Predictions

The Charlotte Hornets go from playing in their biggest game of the season against the Brooklyn Nets to immediately hosting the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Despite the unforgiving schedule, the Swarm have been playing elite-level basketball and should be up to the challenge tonight.

In their only home game against the Nuggets, the Swarm are going to have to play a little differently than they have been playing if they want to secure the win. Recently, Charlotte has been simply looking to outscore their opponents. Thanks to their first-ranked offense, this is easy against most foes, but the Nuggets are built differently.

Keys to the Game

Defend the two-point shots, especially the paint. Denver’s entire offensive game plan is built around Jokic, which it should be. This leads to the big man getting easy buckets around the rim. When he gets stopped down low, he can kick it out to wide open shooters or cutting wings. Either way, Denver’s offense has deadly precision. They shoot 47.9% from the field and 57% from two-point range. These percentages rank third and first in the NBA, respectively. The Hornets will have to pack in and defend at a higher level in this one.

Attack the paint, kick out to open shooters. The Nuggets rank 29th in blocks per game. If the Hornets can penetrate and get to the rim, there will be no shot-blockers in their way. Once the lane gets clogged, Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, and company should be able to hit open shooters on the perimeter, where the Nuggets are allowing opponents to shoot 34.4% on triples. If the Hornets can put up enough open triples, they should be able to break down the Nuggets’ subpar defense.

Odds and Moneyline provided by BetUS 

Point spread: Hornets +4

Money line: Nuggets -165 / Hornets +145

Over-under: 233

Final Prediction

The Hornets are underdogs yet again. Despite playing on their home court, the Hornets cannot ride the high of beating the Nets and fall to Denver, 113-107. Jokic has a monster game, and the back-to-back is too much for the Swarm to overcome.