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Nik Kowalski
Charlotte Hornets vs. Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, NBA Odds
Charlotte’s now 7-21 on the season and on a miserable run with eight consecutive losses. The Lakers are on a cold spell themselves, winning once in their last six outings.
Charlotte’s again likely to be without leading scorer LaMelo Ball (ankle) which makes this a prime opportunity for the Lakers to get back on track. L.A.’s consistently let up a good 120 points over this slump, and the Hornets head into Thursday as the NBA’s fourth-lowest scoring club.
Tip-off at Crypto.com Arena is set for 10:30 p.m. EST with the Lakers at -12 on the point spread and the total at 228.5 on the NBA odds.
Hornets vs. Lakers NBA Betting Odds
The reason the Lakers are in one of the West’s play-in spots and not at the very top of the conference is because of their home and away splits being too drastic. But the good news for Thursday is the Lakers are at home, a place they’ve gone 11-4 at in the 2023–24 season. The under’s been a huge trend for Lakers home games this season too, as prior to their most recent home game the under was on a 9-0 run. The under’s hit in six of Charlotte’s last seven outings.
Head-to-head, the Lakers have had no issues with Charlotte, winning seven of their last nine meetings and covering in eight. But L.A. comes into Thursday having covered in two of their last eight games overall and in just two of their last six battles against Eastern Conference opponents.
Charlotte Hornets
Without LaMelo Ball in the lineup the Hornets simply aren’t an offensive threat. Due to an ankle injury Ball last played November 26, and since then the Hornets have two wins and have hit 115 points three times. Over this eight-game skid, Charlotte’s failed to reach triple digits three times.
Terry Rozier, Charlotte’s next-best scorer after Ball, has been the only Hornets player to score 30 points this past month. And when Rozier goes cold like he did when he finished eight-for-23 from the field Tuesday against the Clippers, Charlotte has been lucky to score 100 points. Miles Bridges has led Charlotte in scoring their past two games with 22 and 21 points, but has done so while shooting a combined 5-for-22 from three-point range.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are 2-6 since winning the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. Injuries have played a role, as has a gauntlet in the schedule, but both of those excuses shouldn’t be in play Thursday. The Hornets are one of the coldest and most vulnerable opponents, and internally L.A. is getting on the healthier side.
Despite all having injury designations on Christmas Day the Lakers had LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish, and Jarred Vanderbilt all play in the loss versus Boston. James remains dealing with a sore knee that he aggravated in the loss Monday but still managed to register 16 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. James and Davis have alternated 40-point games in the Lakers last two showings.