Rockets vs. Hornets prediction and odds for Friday April 7
By Josh Yourish
The regular season in the NBA is coming to an end this weekend and that means we only have a couple more chances to see the teams down at the bottom of the standings, like the Houston Rockets and the Charlotte Hornets.
The Rockets come into this matchup at 20-60, the worst record in the Western Conference. The Hornets are 26-54, 14th place in the East.
Despite all the losing this year, the Rockets are coming off a win over the No. 1 team in their conference, Denver, 124-103. Will they be able to keep the momentum going against another bottom feeding team with two games left on the schedule?
Here are the odds for the Rockets and Hornets in Charlotte.
Rockets vs. Hornets odds, spread and total
Rockets vs. Hornets prediction and pick
There is a very small difference between these two tanking teams. The Rockets have been at the bottom of the standings for years, so they are able to lose games with their best young players, Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jabari Smith Jr. on the floor.
The Hornets have a few more veterans around and don’t aren’t loaded with top picks on the roster, so to ensure that they lose enough they’ve sat their best players and gone with guys like JT Thor, Bryce McGowens, and Theo Maledon in their starting lineup.
Houston’s lineup is at least mostly recognizable to the average fan and that’s why it is still able to catch a team like Denver sleeping and why it’s favored tonight.
Against Denver, Jalen Green had 32 points to lead the way for Houston. He’s averaging 23.4 points a game since the All-Star break and has improved his field goal percentage from 40.9% to 43.4%.
In the Hornets two games in April, Svi Mykhailiuk has been their leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points a night.
Houston hasn’t won a lot of games and Green has been their leading scorer all year, but if a team built their offense around a guy who wasn’t in the first option in any of his four years at Kansas, I’m not sure they’d win close to the 20 games Houston has.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change