NBA: Charlotte Hornets vs. Toronto Raptors Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets meet on Monday night. These two units are direct candidates for the playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and their clash carries big significance. The Canadian franchise sits seventh in the standings, while the Hornets occupy ninth place. So a win here is worth double because you take it away from a direct rival. The two sides are coming into this clash in opposite moods because the Raptors have played very good basketball lately, which can’t be told for the Hornets, who are in problems.

Preview

Toronto Raptors (28-23, +100) have five triumphs in a row. This streak started against the Heat and the Hawks on the road and continued at home against the Heat again, the Bulls, and the Hawks once more. That last meeting vs. Atlanta ended 125-114 for Nick Nurse’s boys.

The Raptors have been very efficient and diverse on the offensive side of the basketball, winning as they did during the championship run three seasons ago. It means that they have a high-paced offense, and on the other side, impregnable defense in the clutch moments.

They scored 17 threes against the Hawks, in only 27 attempts, which is 63%. Pascal Siakam had 33 points with nine boards, Fred VanVleet added 26 and 11 assists, while Gary Trent Jr posted 18 buckets. The rookie Scottie Barnes added 16 with nine rebounds and four dimes.

Charlotte Hornets (28-26, -110) are on a four-game slide, and they look very unstable. Three of those defeats were at home, which only makes things worse because losing in front of its own crowd is unacceptable for Charlotte. The first failure came against the Clippers, then the Celtics (the only one on the road), and after that, the Cavaliers and the Heat.

Miami was routine in North Carolina, 104-86, setting the tone right away and eventually overcoming all the difficulties to humiliate the Hornets in the third period, once they scored 35 and allowed eight buckets.

Terry Rozier had 16 points, which was a team-high, Miles Bridges scored 15, LaMelo 12 with six boards, while Gordon Hayward didn’t score any points, shooting 0-for-7 from the field. This is a big minus for a guy who was supposed to be the leader of the Hornets in this campaign.

Head to Head Games

The Hornets and the Raptors met in late January, in Canada. The final result of that clash was 125-113 for the home side, who was without several of its players. Gary Trent Jr had his night with 32 points, Siakam and Anunoby scored 24. LaMelo led the Hornets, dropping 25 points, Bridges had 22.

Prediction

The Raptors are in better shape. In general, these two sides are on the opposite sides when talking about the current form. The Canadians are going up, while the Hornets are on a downhill. In our opinion, the only logical and normal decision here would be to bet on the visitors to win. Apart from the form, all of the players are healthy now, which wasn’t the case on most of the occasions throughout the campaign.

Pick: Toronto Wins

Here are the previews for the games:

• Heat vs. Wizards
• Suns vs. Bulls