The Charlotte Hornets (14-12) meet the Philadelphia 76ers (13-11) in the second of their back-to-back Wednesday at Spectrum Center for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the 76ers vs. Hornets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Philly won Monday’s meeting with Charlotte 127-124 in overtime as a 7.5-point road favorite. Sixers big Joel Embiid erupted for 43 points on 75.0% shooting (12-for-14 at the foul line) with 15 rebounds and 7 assists. Hornets wing Kelly Oubre put up 35 points on 54.2% shooting (6-of-13 from three).
The 76ers have won three of their last four games (2-2 ATS) including two straight whereas the Hornets have lost four of their last five games but have covered three consecutive contests.
Philly has beaten Charlotte in 15 straight meetings and the Over has cashed in seven of their previous eight games.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: NBA December 8 breakdown
76ers at Hornets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:06 p.m. ET.
- Money line: 76ers -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Hornets +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
- Against the spread (ATS): 76ers -6.5 (-105) | Hornets +6.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 214.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
76ers at Hornets key injuries
76ers
- PG Tyrese Maxey (illness) questionable
Hornets
- PG LaMelo Ball (health and safety protocols) out
- SG Terry Rozier (health and safety protocols) out
- PG Ish Smith (health and safety protocols) out
- C Mason Plumlee (calf) out
76ers at Hornets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
76ers 119, Hornets 107
Money line
PASS even though it’s tough for an NBA team to beat the same team in consecutive games because I don’t think the Hornets can snap their losing skid to the Sixers given their injury woes.
Charlotte is a feisty, well-coached team but the Hornets’ edge in the backcourt has been nullified due to Ball and Rozier being on the NBA’s COVID list. The Hornets’ starting point guard right now is actually their fourth small forward.
Against the spread
BET the 76ERS -6.5 (-105) because Philly would’ve rolled Charlotte the other night if it weren’t for Oubre having one of the best games of his career. Charlotte has pretty much no answer for Embiid and it never has.
Embiid is 12-0 for his career versus the Hornets and is averaging 26.7 points per game on 65.0% true shooting (.538/.333/.828) with 12.7 rebounds per game and a plus-16 net rating.
There’s no question in my mind that Philly can clear 120 points in this match and I’m not convinced Charlotte has an above-average shooting night from behind the arc.
Perhaps we can capitalize on the market’s “recency bias” with this game. The Hornets are getting a vast majority of the action according to the Yahoo! Sports app because they just took the Sixers to overtime the other night.
However, oddsmakers give Charlotte nearly the same chance at beating Philly in this game as the last and I don’t think the betting public knows more than the sportsbooks in this spot.
I’ll trust in the House’s read that the Sixers will tighten things up for this contest such as controlling the boards, minimizing easy fastbreak points and points off of turnovers.
BET the 76ERS -6.5 (-105).
Over/Under
BET the OVER 214.5 (-110) even though it’s a very chalky play and most of the market is betting this game is high-scoring.
The Hornets play the second-highest frequency of transition basketball but the Sixers actually have the second-best transition offensive efficiency.
An undermanned Charlotte team’s best chance of beating Philly is to turn this into a fast-paced shootout. Why wouldn’t the Sixers oblige them if Philly can just execute better than Charlotte in the fastbreak?
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]