Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
All eyes will be on the Cavaliers-Celtics game on Sunday including the Toronto Raptors, who have an opportunity to increase their lead atop the Eastern Conference standings if they can swat away the Charlotte Hornets and the new-look Cavs can beat Boston.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Hornets return home after going 1-3 straight up and 0-4 against the spread on a four-game Western Conference road trip. Charlotte is coming off a 106-94 loss at Utah in which Jazz center Rudy Gobert completely outplayed Hornets big man Dwight Howard.
Charlotte dropped to 23-32 SU and 22-29-4 ATS overall and sits 5.5 games out of the last playoff spot. The Hornets are tied with the Sacramento Kings for the second-fewest ATS wins (22) in the NBA this season.
Toronto is seeking its fifth-straight outright win and cover when it lands in North Carolina. The Raptors own a half game lead over the Boston Celtics at 38-16 and own a 30-24 ATS mark overall. The Dinos have allowed no more than 91 points in any of their last three games with the under cashing each time.
Toronto is 2-0 SU and ATS versus Charlotte this season and put up 129 points in the last meeting.
Toronto Raptors
It was a quiet trade deadline for the Raptors with 15th man Bruno Caboclo’s move to the Sacramento Kings acting as the lone transaction. Toronto got back reserve guard Malachi Richardson in the deal but shouldn’t see much playing time, if any, this season.
Team president Masai Ujiri teased the Raptors could be active participants in the buyout market should a veteran player become available. Toronto beat writers are already speculating about Vince Carter possibly making a return should he and the Kings agree to part ways.
Charlotte Hornets
Michael Jordan and his management team made noise like they would be big players before the trade deadline passed but ultimately stood pat. Charlotte made All-Start point guard Kemba Walker available in trade talks but the team wasn’t happy with the potential return on its best trade asset.
The Hornets are desperate to qualify for the postseason but that won’t happen if Nicolas Batum doesn’t rediscover his offensive touch. Charlotte’s second-highest earner in player salary is averaging just 12.1 points per game and shooting 31.9 percent on his 3-point attempts.
