East’s Best And Worst Teams Meet
The Boston Celtics are not only at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, they’re also getting hot. They’ve won five straight games and 9 of last 11 coming into this road matchup with the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are a team that has been heading in a completely different direction. They’ve lost three straight games and six out of their last seven.
Wins have not come easy for the Hornets, even with LaMelo Ball healthy. Will they come away with an upset win against one of the league’s best teams and cash on the NBA betting odds?
Let’s check the latest NBA odds, stats, injury report and NBA lines for Celtics vs Hornets. We’ve plenty of NBA betting odds for you to consider.
Celtics Could Be Missing Some Talent
It could be an interesting matchup for the Celtics if a few of their star players wind up ruled out with injuries. Both Jaylen Brown and the veteran Al Horford are listed as day-to-day with different ailments.
Losing both would be a blow in this matchup for Boston. Horford is their veteran leader and one of the best players that they have at the center position while Brown is the second offensive option behind Jayson Tatum.
Speaking of Tatum, he’s having an MVP-caliber season. He’s currently averaging 30.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.
If Brown isn’t available, the team wouldl lose 27.2 points per game. This could force Tatum to take on an even larger portion of the offense, though he’ll need help from somebody such as Malcolm Brogdon or Marcus Smart.
However, those who bet online know that if the Celtics were to be without some stars, this would be a good spot for that. Even so, keep an eye on the latest news before making your NBA picks to see who is in and out.
Hornets Don’t Play Defense
The lack of defense has been an issue all season for the Hornets and it’s not getting any better. They are ranked 28th in the league in points allowed per game.
Recently, it resulted in their head coach openly ripping the team’s attitude to playing defense in general. It was a statement that clearly hasn’t motivated them to change their ways much moving forward.
Instead, this young squad attempts to simply play better offense, which isn’t easy given their roster. Steve Clifford’s message has fallen on deaf ears.
Ball has helped them out tremendously since returning from injury, though it’s not enough. The team is 25th in opponent field goal percentage, 28th in free throws allowed and 23rd in turnovers. The Hornets aren’t disciplined.
Celtics vs Hornets Game Injuries
Celtics vs Hornets Head-to-Head
The Celtics met the Hornets earlier in the season and came away with a blowout win, 140-105.
Celtics vs Hornets Game Information
- Game: Celtics (31-12) Hornets (11-32)
- Location: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
- Day/Time: Saturday, Jan 14, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Celtics vs Hornets Live Stream: NBA Game Pass
Celtics vs Hornets Betting Lines
Celtics vs Hornets Picks & Prediction
This one seems like a fairly easy game to pick in the sportsbook. The Celtics are simply the far better team even if they are without Brown, Horford, or both of them.
Not to mention that Boston is the second-best offense in the league statistically and are going up against the 28th-best defense in Charlotte.
Roll with the Celtics with confidence here, their offense should tear apart the Hornets throughout the night and come away with a potentially big win.
Boston is listed at -310 in our Vegas lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Celtics, you have a chance to win $32. Charlotte is +256, offering a chance to win $256 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Celtics a 75.61% chance to win, with the Hornets at 28.09%.
Celtics vs Hornets Trends
Celtics vs Hornets Edge
Celtics vs Hornets Results
Celtics vs Hornets Game Summary
Hornets vs Celtics Previous Game (Nov. 28 2022)
The Boston Celtics have already established a big divisional lead and they don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.
They look to continue their winning ways against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday as the -10½ favorite with NBA betting markets.
