Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Odds, Injury Report, Prediction

The Charlotte Hornets are back in action tonight as they welcome the Washington Wizards to town for a Friday night contest, with tipoff set for 7:00 p.m.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Odds and Moneyline (FanDuel)

Point spread: Wizards -3

Money line: Wizards -154 / Hornets +130

Over-under: 224

Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Injury Report

Hornets: LaMelo Ball (left ankle sprain), Dennis Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain), Cody Martin (left knee procedure), and Gordon Hayward (left shoulder – scapula fracture) are OUT.

Wizards: Rui Hachimura (ankle) and Delon Wright (hamstring) are OUT.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Key Statistic

Points in the paint

The Hornets are scoring 54.1 points in the paint per night, the sixth-best mark in the league. Five different Charlotte players are scoring at least 6.4 points in the paint per night, including Terry Rozier (9.1), Kelly Oubre Jr. (8.4), P.J. Washington (7.2), Nick Richards (7.0), and Mason Plumlee (6.4).

Meanwhile, the Wizards are allowing just 46.6 points in the paint per game, the fifth-best figure in the NBA. Washington has allowed an average of 60 points in the paint in their two previous matchups with Charlotte this season.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Key Matchup

Mason Plumlee vs. Kristaps Porzingis

Mason Plumlee has upped his play this season, averaging 8.9 points and 8.9 rebounds to go along with a career high 4.2 assists per night. His scoring and rebounding numbers are both higher than last season, while his infamously poor free throw shooting has improved from 39.2% to a more respectable 56.1%. Plumlee has averaged 7.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in Charlotte’s first two matchups with Washington this season.

Kristaps Porzingis is averaging 21.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per night on 47.5% shooting through Washington’s first 22 games. He is scoring his most points per game since 2017-18, when he was named to the All-Star team as a member of the New York Knicks.

While Porzingis has had an excellent season so far, the Hornets have done a good job of limiting him. In two matchups with Charlotte this season, Porzingis is averaging 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds on 30.3% shooting, all of which are beneath his season averages.

Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Prediction

The Hornets are coming off their worst defeat of the season, falling to the Boston Celtics by 35 points on Monday night. In fact, the 35-point defeat was Charlotte’s worst since February 25th, 2020, when they lost by 39 points to the Indiana Pacers.

Meanwhile, the Wizards have dropped four of their last five games, with all four losses coming by single digits.

The Wizards have won the first two meetings with Charlotte by a total of 12 points; while tonight’s game could become another close affair, look for Washington to make the critical plays down the stretch to emerge victorious.

What is next for the Charlotte Hornets?

Saturday, December 3rd – vs. Milwaukee Bucks (6:00 p.m. ET)

Note: Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.