The Charlotte Hornets (5-6) play the Los Angeles Lakers (5-5) Monday in the fourth of a five-game West Coast road trip. Tip-off at Staples Center is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Hornets vs. Lakers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Charlotte has lost four straight games including the first three of its road trip to the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers. Each of the three losses have been by double digits. The Hornets are 5-6 ATS and 8-3 O/U with the 23rd-ranked net rating.
L.A. has lost back-to-back games, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers following a three-game winning streak. The Lakers are 2-8 ATS and 5-5 O/U with the 18th-best net rating.
The Lakers have won and covered their last five games against the Hornets, including both meetings last season. The Under cashed in both games last season, too.
Hornets at Lakers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:36 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Hornets +110 (bet $100 to win $110) | Lakers -135 (bet $135 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Hornets +1.5 (-108) | Lakers -1.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 227.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Hornets at Lakers key injuries
Hornets
- PF P.J. Washington (elbow) questionable
Lakers
- SF LeBron James (abdomen) out
- PF Anthony Davis (finger) questionable
- PG Kendrick Nunn (knee) out
- SF Trevor Ariza (ankle) out
- SF Talen Horton-Tucker (thumb) out
Hornets at Lakers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Hornets 118, Lakers 114
Money line
GIMME the HORNETS (+110) to get past a banged-up Lakers team because Charlotte has much better ball movement and security and better 3-point shooting.
The Hornets are second in assist-to-turnover rate while the Lakers rank 23rd. Also, Charlotte has the second-best 3-point percentage whereas the Lakers are ranked ninth.
Even though L.A. won the title two seasons ago with LeBron and AD, this current Charlotte squad has more of an identity than the Lakers.
L.A. is incorporating a bunch of new pieces and dealing with health problems. But the Hornets play through PG LaMelo Ball and have their assignments sorted out.
Finally, there’s been a “sharp line move” toward the Hornets since they opened as +125 underdogs (according to Pregame.com) before getting steamed down to the current price.
Let’s follow the money and bet the healthier HORNETS (+110).
Against the spread
PASS since Charlotte +1.5 (-108) doesn’t provide enough insurance for our Hornets money line wager. If Charlotte’s spread gets to +3 or higher then I’d take the points with the Hornets instead of the money line.
Over/Under
BET the OVER 227.5 (-115) for 1 unit because both teams play at a top-4 pace, and have a below-average defensive effective field-goal percentage, bottom-10 defensive FT/FGA rate and bottom-5 defensive rebounding rate.
Charlotte ranks dead-last in defensive field-goal shooting vs. attempts at the rim (according to CleaningTheGlass.com) and we know that Lakers PG Russell Westbrook likes to attack the basket.
The bottom line is I see a fast-paced game with plenty of visits to the charity stripe, a huge volume of 3-point attempts and a lot of second-chance points due to poor defensive rebounding.
Finally, we have “reverse line movement” (RLM) in the Over’s direction, according to Pregame.com.
The Hornets-Lakers opened with a 224.5-point total and more than three-fourths of the action is on the Under because of AD’s questionable game status, the absence of LeBron and both meetings last season cashing Unders.
But the total has been steamed up despite the one-way traffic heading South. Anytime a sports bettor sees RLM, their Spidey sense should tingle. It’s suspicious whenever sportsbooks make the more popular side cheaper.
For what it’s worth, the OVER 227.5 (-115) is my favorite play in this Hornets-Lakers contest.
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