The Charlotte Hornets (45-33) take on the visiting Brooklyn Nets (21-57) at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The game gets underway at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, Apr. 8 and will air on YES and FxS.
The Hornets beat the Knicks 111-97 on Wednesday. Kemba Walker was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points on 11-for-18 shooting. The Nets, meanwhile, are coming off a demoralizing 121-103 loss to the Wizards on Wednesday. Brooklyn still lost despite the best efforts of Thomas Robinson, who recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Scoring opportunities from the charity stripe may be sporadic for the Nets in this one. They’re 26th in the league in free throw attempt rate (24.7), while Charlotte is among the NBA’s least foul-prone teams (yielding a rate of 24.8, ranking fourth overall).
The Hornets have emerged victorious in all three matchups against the Nets this year, including a 105-100 win the last time these two teams met. In the loss, Brook Lopez led all scorers on the team with 29 points.
The Hornets look to build on their records of 45-33 Straight Up (SU) and 40-37-1 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 3-7 ATS. The Hornets are a high-volume three-point shooting team with 10.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA. Few teams in the league have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Charlotte, which ranks fourth at 1.82. Charlotte’s defense has been struggling to keep points off the board during its most recent matchups. The Hornets have given up an average of 111.3 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 100.5 PPG.
Over on the other bench, the Nets have a record of 37-40-1 ATS and 21-57 SU. In Eastern Conference games, Brooklyn has gone 21-57 SU and 37-40-1 ATS. Brooklyn’s defense has allowed an average of 97.3 points per game during the last 10 games, lower than their season average of 105.5.
The Hornets’ win over Brooklyn in their last game brought their SU record to 6-4 over the Nets in the last 10 games. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cha
Notes
“Charlotte is 15-5 SU in its last 20 games “.
“Charlotte is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“Charlotte is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games at home”.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Charlotte’s last 5 games at home”.
“Charlotte is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Brooklyn”.
“Charlotte is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Brooklyn”.
“Charlotte is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Brooklyn”.
“Charlotte is 6-15 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against Brooklyn”.
Charlotte ranks 11th in points per game with 103.0, while Brooklyn ranks 23rd in points allowed with an average of 105.5 given up.
On average, Charlotte puts up 105.0 points per home game (ranked 12th). Brooklyn ranks 26th in points allowed per road game with 107.3.
In its last game, Brooklyn lost by an 18-point margin. Charlotte is 11-4 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Brooklyn has a 0-11 record in blowouts.
When giving up fewer than 100 points, the Brooklyn Nets have a 9-7 record. When scoring fewer than 100 points, the Charlotte Hornets have an abysmal record of 8-25.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Nets are just 12-50 this season. Charlotte is a formidable 37-8 when registering triple digits.
The Nets have an offensive rating of 101.4 (ranked 27th), while the Hornets rank eighth for their defensive rating of 102.2.
Charlotte has an average field goal percentage of 43.7%. Brooklyn is a subpar 13-49 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Charlotte Hornets rank lower for their field goal percentage (27th) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (15th), but the Brooklyn Nets have a better FG% ranking (12th) than their EFF% ranking (21st).
Charlotte makes an average of 21.5 assists per game (ranked 19th). Brooklyn ranks higher in assists with 22.2 (ranked 16th).
Charlotte makes an average of 5.3 blocks per game (ranked 12th), while Brooklyn makes 3.9 blocks per game (ranked 26th).
Charlotte is ranked 28th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Brooklyn ranks 25th in defensive rebounds.
The Charlotte Hornets average 7.2 steals per game. When giving up 7 or more steals, the Brooklyn Nets have a poor record (18-39) this season.
