Toronto Raptors (22-15) travel to Spectrum Center to take on the Charlotte Hornets (13-23). This will be the third and final meeting between the two sides this season, with the series currently split 1-1.
Charlotte are 1.5 point underdogs in this matchup, which on paper looks like an unreasonable line. However when you break it down, it is easy to see why the bookmakers are pricing this as a coin flip match. Charlotte have won back to back games convincingly against Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder. Charlotte are 9-4 when playing with LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller. In the last 10 games, no team in the NBA is shooting the 3 ball better than Charlotte (42.8%). They will need more of that tonight if they are to beat Toronto. The absence of Brandon Miller will be a miss for Charlotte.
The Toronto Raptors are 4th in the East, just a couple of games back from Boston in 2nd. However there is no real mention of them being a playoff contender. The lack of appreciation for Toronto’s work this season is bizarre. They are good on the road (10-7), rank 5th for defensive rating (112.3), and have a well balanced roster. I believe the scepticism is two fold; firstly the Raptors lack an “exceptional scorer” who has proven to do it in the post season, and secondly they are 3-9 against Top 6 seeds in the league. Do they have what it takes to beat the best? I’m not sure.
However Toronto will believe their depth and efficiency is enough to get past Charlotte. With Colin Ingram, RJ Barrett, & Scottie Barnes all averaging between 19-22 PPG there is depth in scoring for Toronto.
Betting Markets:
- Toronto Raptors ML (-133)/Charlotte Hornets ML (+105)
- Toronto Raptors -1.5 pts (-120)/Charlotte Hornets +1.5 pts (-105)
- Over 230.5 pts (-110)/Under 230.5 pts (-110)
Our Prediction:
Charlotte are in fantastic form offensively. They have the best 3pt shooting efficiency in the last 10 games. I believe Charlotte will continue this into tonight and disrupt Toronto’s defensive setup.
With the playmaking of Kon Knueppel & LaMelo Ball, I don’t think there is much difference in quality between the two rosters on current form.
Recent Form:
Injury Report:
Toronto Raptors: Jakob Poeltl (Out), Chucky Hepburn (Out)
Charlotte Hornets: Grant Williams (Out), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Out), Mason Plumlee (Out), Brandon Miller (Out)