NBA: Charlotte Hornets VS Houston Rockets Pick and Predictions 01/18/2023

Game: 8:10 PM ET,  Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hornets: 11-34, 15th place Eastern Conference

Rockets: 10-34, 15th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  (will update)

PointsBet: Point Spread: 

Fanduel: Point Spread: 

Hornets: PF Jaden McDaniels, SF PJ Washington, C Mason Plumlee, PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier

Rockets: PF Jabari Smith JR, SF Kenyon Martin JR, C Alperen Sengun, PG Jalen Green, SG Eric Gordon

An NBA interconference spectacle… The two worst teams in all of basketball will square off to finally declare “We are the Most Hopeless!”.  They will mean it too.  Both these “tanking scabs” are in the hunt for the #1 pick of the NBA Draft.  That is the only reason they take the court this season… so they can land 7’4 French Teenager Victor Wembanyama to play the Center position with projections like “He is the next Kareem Abdul Jabbar”... “He is the perfect mix of Kevin Garnett and Kevin Durant”... “best prospect since LeBron”... Both teams will make absolutely certain that they start defensively deficient players… both teams will make sure any trades they make at the deadline will acquire draft picks and not improve the team.  The sorry part of this game is that both teams cannot lose… could they tie?.... The Charlotte Hornets have one long term player on their roster: young superstar and recent ROY PG LaMelo Ball… and if I were their GM I would trade him for assets because he simply is not a good defender. The Houston Rockets don’t have any superstar types but they do have a collection of young, athletic talented players that could be solid NBA starters:  SG Jalen Green, PF Jabari Smith JR, and C Alperen Sengun… plus former #30 pick of the draft Kevin Porter JR could be a very good point guard in a league FULL of very good point guards.  Yet none of them are ready for the minutes they are playing.  The great betting opportunity here is …. Which team sucks MORE?

The Charlotte Hornets suck more.  They have only won 2 of their last 10 games (which is better than the Rockets) and are on a 5-game losing streak with 4 losses ATS in a row.  They have some fun vets on the team and they have some key guys on the injury list.   But anything they have should be moved and moved soon… whether they win the Lottery or do not?... They will need a full scale rebuild.  They lost their last game to the Boston Celtics (actually their last 2 games to the Celtics) 130-118. The Celtics rested a lot of the starters except SF/PF Jayson Tatum who got 51 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.  The Hornets had no answer and the Celtics were not stressing the starters. PG LaMelo Ball had 25 points, PF Jaden McDaniels had 26 points… They both had negative +/- scores.

The Houston Rockets have lost all 10 of their last 10 games.  They should be embarrassed but they keep showing up to arenas full of smiles. They lost their last game (the second loss of a back to back) to the Los Angeles Lakers… 140-132… which very closely beat the +7.5 points the Rockets were getting on the spread.  The Rockets defense gave up 48 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists to 38 year old LeBron James.  In fact Rockets PF Jabari Smith JR pulled LeBron aside during the game and said (on mic) “You actually played against my dad in your very first game.”  To which LeBron said “really?”.  In the loss C Alperen Sengun gout 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists… making this 2nd year player the best possible draft asset the Rockets have in the event they do win the Draft Lottery… He continually plays well and lots of teams will want him.

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CHA: 11-34, 18-24-3 ATS, 23-21-1 O/U, 6-19 in road games.

HOU: 10-34, 18-25, 1 ATS, 22-22 O/U, 6-14 in home games.

The Hornets are 22nd in scoring with 112.2 points per game, 5th in rebounds with 45.4 per game, 7th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8, and 13th in blocked shots with 4.9 per game.

The Rockets are 28th in scoring with 109.6 points per game, 4th in rebounds with 46.4 per game, 30th in AST/TO ratio with 1.3, and 16th in blocks per game with 4.6.

Our prediction for Wednesday, January 18th is…. Rockets 122 - Hornets 103

What?... Bet on the Hornets.  Rarely will I ever tell you to bet on the worst team in the NBA… especially one that is 18-25-1 ATS… but the Rockets will have more athleticism on the court.. And they will be playing the only team in the league that is collectively worse on DEFENSE.  So we get a track meet early followed by a Houston dunk fest.

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Houston is 12-4 ATS versus Charlotte since 1996.

25 of 36 of these games have gone UNDER since 1996.

Houston is 10-25 as a home underdog of 6 points or less the last 3 seasons.

Hornets: SG Terry Rozier.  Terry is a good shooter, a little long in the tooth, and defensively absent.  He could be a very big contributor as a sixth man to a contender… but as a starter who is babysitting children?... He is lost.  Occasionally he drops 30 points,,, and other times he drops 12 while giving up 30.

Rockets: C Alperen Sengun.  Alperen has earned a lot of looks around the league. If the Rockets win the # pick in  the draft lottery? He will be in great demand on the trade market.  If the Rockets do not win #1… He will be extended on the first chance the Rockets have.

Hornets: Steve “this is tough” Clifford

Rockets: Stephen “tell me about it” Silas