NBA: Charlotte Hornets VS Toronto Raptors Pick and Predictions 01/12/2023

Game: 7:40 PM ET,  Thursday, January 12th, 2023

Venue:  Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hornets: 11-31, 14th place Eastern Conference

Raptors: 18-23, 11th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  (will update)

PointsBet: Point Spread: 

Fanduel: Point Spread: 

Hornets:

Raptors:

An all out scrum between one of the worst teams in the league and one of the biggest phonies in the league.  The Charlotte Hornets are absolutely “one of the worst teams” in the league. They los basketball games… sometimes they aggressively lose them.  The team has hit hard times yet again as they lost PF/SF Mile Bridges, their leading sorcerer, in the last offseason to offcourt issues.  They also missed several months of time from their young, star point guard LaMelo Ball to an injury.  The rest of the roster is without any type of inside presence in the form of a big man or two… They also rely on scoring from guards and forwards (Rizier and Hayward) who are rapidly aging and often dinged up…. They are hurting, their losses while a part of the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes… are simply unavoidable if you look at what is available to put on the court.  The Toronto Raptors are absolutely PHONIES!  The Raptors have on paper Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet (all of whom have scored 30 + sometime this season) and Scottie Barnes (the young stud who is most like a Scottie Pippen and Steve Nash hybrid) .. and they can’t win games?... Because they also have no legit big men on the roster.  The Center position in Toronto is played by a succession of undersized power forwards who do not have that sweet 3-point shooting touch.  Raptors head coach Nick Nurse caught lightning in a bottle a few seasons ago when he became a champion…. His head should be on the chopping block right now.  The great betting opportunity here is in deciding how many points the Raptors will beat the Hornets by… Let’s look at the numbers.

The Charlotte Hornets are only winners of 3 of their last 10 games.  Sadly they lost their last game and lost ATS to these same Toronto Raptors 132-120.  In that loss the Hornets got 33 points from SG Terry Rozier, 24 points from PG LaMelo Ball, and 21 points from C Mason Plumlee. Plumlee is an interesting player in that he is not the slightest bit worthy of his defensive assignment on most nights… so even if he gives you points you will only have the hope of breaking even.  The Hornets have a talent drain.  Last season they led the league in points and finished FAR from the playoffs… This season they are not top-ten or even close to top-ten in scoring and they are far below where they were last season.  Hopefully they find a team to take Plumlee and Rozier at the deadline for anything that can be built on.

The Raptors are on a 2-game winning streak and have won 5 of their last 10 games.  In their last win they beat THESE Charlotte Hornets 132-120 and also got the win ATS. In the win PF/C Pascal Siakam got 28 points, SF OG Anunoby got 22 points, and SG Gary Trent Jr got 24 points… The mystery is PF/PG/SG/SF Scottie Barnes.. The guy can play 4 different positions on the floor on the defensive end.  Scottie’s stats were 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.  This team needs to play Scottie at the PG or SF position but they already have really good players there.. So they play him at the PF where he gets lost on offense and overworked on defense.  For God’s Sake, trade him or play him!  If the Raptors can move Fred Van Vleet or oG Anunoby.. Scottie could fill the spot… if they can’t… Then please trade Scottie so he can start winning?!!!

 

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CHA: 11-31, 18-21-3 ATS, 21-20-1 O/U, 6-17 in road games.

TOR: 18-23, 20-21 ATS, 22-19 O/U, 13-10 in home games.

The Hornets are 20th in scoring with 112.1 points per game, 5th in rebounds with 45.6 per game, 7th in AST/To ratio with 1.8, and 12th in blocks per game with 5.0 per game.

The Raptors are 25th in scoring with 111.7 points per game, 20th in rebounds with 42.6 per game, 2nd in AST/To ratio with 1.9, and 9th in blocked shots with 5.1 per game.

Our prediction for Thursday, January 12th is…. Raptors 118 - Hornets 102

Bet on the Raptors.  The Hornets find a way to lose every game… but when they are outmatched a lot defensively (which they are) they lose very big.

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4 of 4 games in this matchup in Toronto have gone OVER the past 3 seasons.

The Hornets are 21-9 ATS after playing 3 consecutive road games the last 3 seasons.

The Raptors are 10-3 ATS after playing 4 consecutive home games the last 3 seasons.

Hornets: LaMelo Ball.  LaMelo is a young rising star who won rookie of the year last year.  For a team of this terrible standings and history… They might consider trading him to do a full reset with several big picks NOW and several big picks in the future.  He will never be worth more than he is now with a ROY award and a rookie contract.  Ship him to Orlando for multiple players and some future picks.  Orlando will pay it.  Plus you will be no worse off than you are now.

Raptors: ? Scottie Barnes.  Who knows what position Scottie will play come game time… he can do them all.  But not being the focal point is sidelining a great talent.  The Raptors should either be in the Scottie Barnes business (he plays point guard) .. or get out of the Scottie Barnes business.  Ship him to Orlando for multiple players and future picks.

I mentioned Orlando twice because they have tons of everything (yong players & picks)… and if they miss winning the #1 or #2 pick they will be up Schitt's Creek… and if they win the NBA Lottery? they will still have to trade half a dozen players anyway.

Hornets: Steve “who?” Clifford

Raptors: Nick “Goodnight” Nurse