The Charlotte Hornets (22-23) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (32-12), the Eastern Conference’s best team, to the Time Warner Cable Arena. Action starts at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 3 and will air on FxO and FxS.
The Hornets come into this game on a high note after edging the Kings 129-128 the last time they played. Troy Daniels led all scorers on the team with 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 115-93 win against the Suns in their last outing. LeBron James was the game’s top scorer, posting 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
Kemba Walker has really been playing well over the last five games for the Hornets. During that stretch, he has averaged 32.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Hornets in this one. They rank 28th in the league in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of just 20.4%), while Cleveland is third-best in the NBA on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 79.0%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Cavaliers won the first game 95-90. James played a big role with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hornets have gone 23-25 Straight Up (SU) and 23-24-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 13-12 SU and 12-12-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference. Charlotte has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a stellar .794. The Hornets, sporting the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA (1.78), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
In the other locker room, the Cavaliers have a record of 21-24-2 ATS and 35-12 SU. Although they’ve done very well in road games against divisional foes (2-3), Cleveland sports a lackluster 2-3 record ATS.
Cleveland beat Charlotte in their most recent meeting this season, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. The Hornets lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle
Notes
Charlotte is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte’s last 5 games.
Charlotte is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte’s last 5 games at home.
Charlotte is 16-7 SU in its last 23 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Charlotte’s last 8 games when playing Cleveland.
Charlotte is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte’s last 5 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
Charlotte averages 101.6 points per game (ranked 15th). However, Cleveland has allowed an average of just 96.5 points per game (ranked third).
Charlotte ranks 14th in the league with 103.5 points per home game. Cleveland allows just 95.1 points per away game (ranked second).
In its last game, Cleveland won by a 22-point margin. Charlotte is 6-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Cleveland has a 7-2 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 20-6 on the season. When the Hornets score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 5-18.
The Cavaliers have a 12-6 record when they allow at least 100 points. The Hornets have also performed well when they register triple digits with a record of 17-5 in such contests.
The Cavaliers have the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA (106.6). The Hornets are also in the top half of the league based on their defensive rating of 102.5 (ranked 13th).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 10th in the league with a FG% of 45.3%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Charlotte Hornets have a losing 6-12 record.
The Charlotte Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Charlotte is 29th and 20th in the league for FG% and EFF% respectively, while Cleveland is 10th and sixth in these categories.
Charlotte makes an average of 21.3 assists per game (ranked 20th). Cleveland ranks higher in assists with 22.4 (ranked 10th).
Charlotte makes an average of 5.2 blocks per game (ranked 10th), while Cleveland makes 3.7 blocks per game (ranked 28th).
Charlotte is ranked 24th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Cleveland ranks 10th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Charlotte makes 7.2 steals per game. Cleveland has a winning 19-7 record when it allows at least 7 steals.
