The Charlotte Hornets host a contest against the Boston Celtics at Time Warner Cable Arena. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Mar. 30 and can be seen on CSN-NE and SPSO.
The Hornets played well in their last game, topping the Hawks 115-100 on Saturday. Gerald Henderson was a key piece with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists. The Celtics, meanwhile, are coming off a 96-92 win against the Knicks on Friday. Isaiah Thomas was the team’s top scorer, accounting for 18 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
Scoring opportunities from the charity stripe may be sporadic for the Celtics in this one. They’re 28th in the league in free throw attempt rate (23.2), while Charlotte is among the NBA’s least foul-prone teams (yielding a rate of 24.2, ranking fifth overall).
The Hornets lead the season series against the Celtics two games to one, but fell short in their most recent game, 106-98. In the loss, Mo Williams led all scorers with 31 points.
The odds for Charlotte and Boston are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available. The Hornets have gone 31-41 Straight Up (SU) and 35-35-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 23-20 SU and 23-18-2 ATS against the Eastern Conference. Charlotte is one of the most disciplined teams in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.85. Teams usually don’t get many offensive rebounds against the Hornets, who are one of the top defensive rebounding teams in the league with an average of 34.4 defensive rebounds per game.
As for their opponent, the Celtics have a record of 41-31 ATS and 32-40 SU. Against the Eastern Conference, Boston is 20-23 SU and 24-19 ATS.
The Celtics’ win over Charlotte in their last clash brought the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the last 10 meetings. They are also even ATS in their last 10 games. Over the last 10 matchups, Boston held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers four times. Charlotte performed this feat twice.
Predictions: SU Winner – BOS, ATS Winner – BOS
Notes
Boston scores 100.6 points per game (ranked 14th), but Charlotte typically gives up only 97.1 points per game (ranked fourth).
Boston scores an average of 100.1 points per away game (ranked 11th), while Charlotte gives up 96.8 points per home game (ranked ninth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Boston Celtics are a superb 26-6. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Charlotte Hornets have a losing record of 11-32.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Celtics are just 6-34 this season. Charlotte is a solid 20-9 when registering triple digits.
The Celtics have an offensive rating of 101.0 (ranked 20th), while the Hornets rank fifth for their defensive rating of 100.2.
The Charlotte Hornets average a field goal percentage of 42.3% this season. The Boston Celtics have a poor record of 15-32 when opponents have a FG% of 42.3% or greater.
On average, the Charlotte Hornets attempt 18.6 three point field goals per game and the Boston Celtics attempt 24.4 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Charlotte has a 2-3 record and Boston has a 14-17 record.
Charlotte ranks near the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.85 (ranked fourth). Boston is ranked sixth, with an A/TO of 1.80.
The Hornets rank ninth in rebounds per game with 44.4, while the Celtics rank 12th with 44.1 per game.
Charlotte ranks among the best in the league in defensive rebounds at third, while Boston ranks a solid 11th in offensive rebounds.
Boston has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.4% this season. Charlotte is an even 8-8 when its TOV% is 14.4% or higher.
