Charlotte Hornets vs Brooklyn Nets Prediction: Hornets to pull off a sensation

The Hornets have lost four of their last five home games to Brooklyn, and now even at home they are considered the underdogs against the Nets. Will Charlotte be able to pull off a sensation?

Despite the fact that LaMelo Ball hasn't played this season due to injury, Terry Rozier missed most of his games and Gordon Hayward left the day before, Charlotte still has some strong points that could help the team win some games. The Hornets are still one of the fastest in the NBA, especially in defense. Steve Clifford's men do move a lot, but they have trouble scoring. Dennis Smith Jr. certainly looks good in the starting five, but he can't score more than 13-5 average per game. Kelly Oubre and P.J. Washington look good, but both are shooting under 45%. Mason Plumlee is slowly taking over his role as the primary center, but he's mostly useful on his own half.

In their last 6 games, the Hornets have only 1 win, and the day before they could do nothing against Memphis, 99-130. Oubre and Washington together scored 7 of 27 shots, while J.T. Thor, Nick Richards and Dennis Smith Jr. had trouble with the game. James Bouknight was good, becoming the only one to hit at least 50% of his shots with at least 10 attempts.

The Nets have been caught up in ongoing scandals since summer, and there has already been news that some employees are tired of the constant turmoil. Steve Nash was recently fired, Cam Thomas requested a transfer, and Kyrie Irving was suspended for five games. The atmosphere in the club is sure a mess right now, yet Brooklyn has managed to win 2 of their last 3 games. Kevin Durant is averaging 32 points per game and is currently 4th in the NBA in scoring. Ben Simmons is out due to injury, Seth Curry also has health issues, so Edmond Sumner, Cam Thomas and Patty Mills, who recently struggled to get more playing minutes, will likely get more playing time.

Brooklyn defeated Washington on the road last season, 128-86. The Nets shot poorly from behind the arc: 14 of their 28 shots were successful. Seven players scored more than 10 points, including even Yuta Watanabe, David Duke and Cam Thomas. Kevin Durant nearly had a triple-double: 28 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists.

Charlotte still have big problems on offense, and only their core players coming back can fix the situation. Brooklyn can't be blamed for lack of effort; their defense was good, and they showed their best against Washington. The Nets still have problems shooting three-pointers and it is unlikely they will attempt the same basketball again as they did against Washington. We should not expect much consistency from their youth either, so even the Hornets' bench does not look too bad in comparison with the club from New York. Our prediction for the upcoming match is the following:

• TU (221.5) for 1.95;
• H1 (+5.5) for 1.816;
• W1 (incl. OT) for 2.50.

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