Knicks vs. Hornets Prediction and Odds for Friday, December 9th (Expect Low Scoring Affair In Charlotte)

The New York Knicks have won two straight and are scratching and clawing their way to .500 on the season at 12-13 entering tonight. Tom Thibodeau’s team just took down Atlanta with an excellent shooting night from deep, led by Julius Randle’s 34 points and 17 boards. Randle has a chance to exploit the Charlotte Hornets who are weak inside. The Hornets are 7-18 and were just up in New York on Wednesday in a loss to Brooklyn. 

Now, they’re down in North Carolina and it’s a great spot for the Knicks to gain ground in the Eastern Conference as road favorites. 

Knicks vs. Hornets Odds, Spread and Total

Knicks vs. Hornets Prediction and Pick

Simply put, the Charlotte Hornets are not good. When Terry Rozier and Kelly Oubre Jr. are your two leading scorers, it means you have serious roster construction issues. LaMelo Ball has been out for most of the season and Gordon Hayward is gone for the “foreseeable future.” The NBA is the most talent rich it has ever been, even the bad teams have intriguing young players that could be future stars, but Charlotte is as desolate as it gets. 

The Hornets have lost their last three. Meanwhile, the Knicks are putting together a little winning streak with Julius Randle playing much better than he did a year ago. Randle isn’t quite back to his All-NBA form from two seasons ago, but 21.6 points a game and 8.8 rebounds is impressive. 

New York is 17th in points allowed per game, but the Knicks force their opponents to shoot the ball poorly. They’re holding their opponents to 44.9% from the field and 34.4% from three. They’ll make it tough for the Hornets to hit shots, and I can’t imagine the Knicks hitting 47% of their three-pointers like they did last game. I think there will be some shooting regression and the under is the best play. 

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