The Charlotte Hornets (16-15) meet the Phoenix Suns (23-5) Sunday for an 8 p.m. ET tip-off at Footprint Center. Below, we look at the Hornets vs. Suns odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Charlotte has alternated between winning and losing over the past five games with the latest being a 125-116 loss at the Portland Trail Blazers Friday.
Over the past two weeks, the Hornets are 3-4 straight-up (SU), 5-2 ATS and 5-1-1 O/U with the 16th-ranked net rating (minus-2.0 points per 100 possessions), according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
Phoenix has won back-to-back games vs. the Trail Blazers 111-107 Tuesday and the Washington Wizards 118-98 Thursday. The Suns are 4-1 SU, 3-2 ATS and 1-1-3 O/U with the fourth-best efficiency differential (plus-10.0 points per 100 possessions), per CTG.
These teams split both meetings last season with the road team winning each game but Charlotte was 2-0 ATS in those contests and either side of the total cashed.
Hornets at Suns odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Hornets +270 (bet $100 to win $270) | Suns -360 (bet $360 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Hornets +7.5 (-110) | Suns -7.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 230.5 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Hornets at Suns key injuries
Hornets
- None.
Suns
- SG Devin Booker (hamstring) questionable
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Hornets at Suns odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Suns 116, Hornets 112
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Hornets (+270) because I like Charlotte plus the points in this game. However, the Suns (-360) are 13-2 SU at home this season with the third-best non-garbage time net rating and could be getting back leading scorer and All-Star Devin Booker.
Also, if Booker returns to action for this game then Charlotte’s money line would certainly increase so it would be best to wait until the final injury reports are released before getting down on this game.
Against the spread
BET the HORNETS +7.5 (-110) because Charlotte’s offense got cooking in LaMelo Ball‘s first game back after a slow start in its game against Portland Friday.
The Hornets put up 31 points in quarters 1-3 vs. the Trail Blazers and would’ve won that game had Charlotte not lost the first quarter, 41-24.
Furthermore, the Hornets just match up very well with the Suns. Charlotte has an edge on the wing, Phoenix has the edge in the frontcourt, and I’d call it a draw in the backcourt.
Moreover, the two Hornets-Suns games last season were decided by four and three points and Charlotte has covered five of its past six meetings with Phoenix.
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” to the UNDER 230.5 (-108) for a tiny wager, if at all, because I think it’ll be the contrarian play and the Suns are 0-7 O/U with a minus-11.2 margin on the total when playing with 2-3 days of rest.
That said, I do think both offenses have success in this matchup, and Charlotte has one of the most potent offenses in the league now that Ball is back in the lineup.
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