NBA: Charlotte Hornets vs. Brooklyn Nets Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Charlotte Hornets have the toughest possible challenge as they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. Even though James Borrego’s guys have two wins in the first two matches, they come in as massive underdogs against Kevin Durant and the company. Meanwhile, the Nets are finally back home after two very harsh road matches, against the top rivals in the East conference. This will come as a refreshment for Steve Nash’s side, who currently has one win and loss each.

Preview

Charlotte Hornets (+350) had two matchups against the teams from the Central division, the Indiana Pacers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Hornets won both of those games, scoring 123 points, which is pretty good but also expected with their offensive potential.

The opening match against the Pacers at home was pretty close, 123-122, and the second vs. Cavaliers on the road was a bit more comfortable, 123-112. Miles Bridges scored 30 points with seven boards, shooting 13-for-24, and it seems that he and his brother really started this campaign well.

Kelly Oubre Jr. indicated that he might be one of the best additions to the team in the past few years, with 25 buckets in 27 minutes. The guard/forward can be of great use for the Hornets this year, and the potential leader of the second unit. Charlotte had 10 boards more than the Cavs, 46-36, mostly because of Mason Plumlee, who grabbed 14 of them.

Brooklyn Nets (-450) recovered fast after a loss in Milwaukee, defeating the last year’s No.1 seed in East, the Philadelphia 76ers, 114-109. Philly was without Ben Simmons, which was a major blow for them, but that won’t diminish the Nets’ victory in any way.

Brooklyn was better on the glass with 47 boards, 12 more than the rivals, and they also limited the hosts to just 8 points off turnovers. The key moment of the match was the last period, in which the Nets completely flipped the results, outscoring the hosts, 29-18, and calmly closing out the contest.

Kevin Durant had a triple-double with 29 points, 15 boards, and 12 assists, while James Harden packed 20 buckets, eight assists, and seven boards. LaMarcus Aldridge was phenomenal off the bench with 23 points, hitting 10 of his 12 shots. The veteran center played 23 minutes, and was had the biggest plus/minus coefficient.

Head to Head Games

The result in the series last year was 2-1 for the Nets. The first game in Charlotte ended 106-104 for the home side, while the Nets posted two easy wins in the next two events, both at Barclays – 111-89 and 130-115.

Prediction

This should be an easy-on for the Nets. That is, the hosts should win regardless of Charlotte’s quality and positive atmosphere following two straight triumphs. Brooklyn will be the favorite in each game played at home, because they simply are the No.1 favorites for winning the title, and something like this is more than logical. You won’t have a high profit when betting on the home team’s plain win in this game, but if you go with the Nets covering the spread, that will bring a substantial amount of cash in return.

Pick: Nets -8.5 -110