The Washington Wizards (4-8) host the Charlotte Hornets (6-9) Friday at Capital One Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Hornets-Wizards odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Hornets at Wizards: Key injuries
Wizards
- C Ian Mahinmi (Achilles) out
Hornets at Wizards: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Wizards 123, Hornets 114
Moneyline (ML)
The WIZARDS (-278) are a safe choice Friday with both teams largely unaffected by injury and able to use their full lineups. Washington is coming off a 138-132 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday and is 2-3 at home. Charlotte is 3-5 on the road and is coming off consecutive losses to the Toronto Raptors (132-96) and Brooklyn Nets (101-91), both of which were on the road.
Both teams enter off a rest day, further allowing them to use their best players as much as possible. The Hornets’ average point differential of minus-7.9 ranks second-worst in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards are minus-1.4, but they score nearly 15 more points than the Hornets on average.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Wizards to win outright returns a profit of $3.60.
Against the Spread (ATS)
Save yourself some money on the required investment and back the WIZARDS (-5.5, -129) with the points. They’ll need to win by six or more for the same $10 bet to fetch a reward of $7.75.
Washington is 8-3 ATS overall and 3-2 on home court. The Hornets are 8-7 overall and 5-3 on the road. The Wizards rank fifth in the NBA with a pace of 105.08 possessions per game while the Hornets are just 23rd at 100.17 average possessions. Washington will be able to pull away late to cover comfortably.
Over/Under (O/U)
The total of 232.5 is the highest on Friday’s slate, but we’re still taking the OVER (-129). The Wizards are the only team in the Association allowing more than 120 points per game (121.1) and only the Milwaukee Bucks are scoring more than Washington’s 119.7 PPG. The Wiz are 7-4-1 against the O/U and top the projections by an average of 12.5 points per game.
Charlotte is 7-8 against the O/U while falling an average of 1.7 points shy of the number, but the Hornets are far from a defensive juggernaut (112.8 PPG allowed) and will need to play up to Washington’s pace.
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Esten’s NBA betting record: 34-38
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