Hornets vs. Nets Prediction and Odds (Hornets To Spoil Irving's Brooklyn Debut?)
By Joe Summers
Kyrie Irving makes his long-awaited home debut tonight as the 39-35 Brooklyn Nets host the 38-36 Charlotte Hornets at 7:30 PM EST.
News broke Wednesday that New York City Mayor Eric Adams lifted the vaccine mandate preventing Irving from playing at the Barclays Center, and now the Nets will get a couple of weeks to get Irving acclimated to playing at home before the playoffs.
Brooklyn is already surging of late, having won seven of its last nine games. They're currently slated to make the Play-In tournament but sit three games behind Toronto for the 6th seed with eight games to play. Charlotte is just one game behind the Nets in the standings and are on a roll themselves, securing wins in six of their last seven.
Earlier this month, Brooklyn beat the Hornets 132-121 behind 50 points from Kyrie - can he dominate Charlotte once again in his home debut or will LaMelo Ball and company hang tough on the road?
Let's check out the odds from WynnBET to help us find value in this pivotal Eastern Conference matchup:
Hornets vs Nets Odds, Spread and Total
Spread
- Hornets +6 (-110)
- Nets -6 (-110)
Moneyline:
- Hornets +200
- Nets -250
Total:
- 238.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Hornets vs Nets Prediction and Pick
Brooklyn has won four of their last five with both Irving and Kevin Durant in the lineup and have posted the second-best offensive rating in the league over the last 10 games. Their defense has been just middle of the pack, but that's a huge step up from the disaster it was through most of the season.
The Hornets have been strong too though, ranking fourth in offensive rating over the same time span. LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, and Miles Bridges are all averaging 20+ points per game in March and will look to use a balanced attack to exploit the star-heavy Nets.
It's hard to know how much stock to put into it since this will be Irving's first home game, but the Nets have been a terrible spread bet at the Barclays Center. They're 4-16 against the spread (ATS) over their last 20 home matchups and are an insane 1-18-1 ATS in their last 20 as a home favorite.
Meanwhile, Charlotte has been superb on the road, going 12-3-1 ATS in their last 16. They lead the NBA in assist percentage (how many baskets come from an assist) this month and their ball movement should frustrate Brooklyn's defenders.
I like the Hornets to keep it close and maybe even spoil Irving's home debut. Their net rating of 6.1 in March is on par with the Nets' (7.5) and I think the public will be all over Brooklyn today, giving us value on the underdog.
Pick: Charlotte +6 (-110)
Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.