Sacramento Kings vs Charlotte Hornets 12/19/22 NBA Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Sacramento Kings play host to the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center on Monday night.

The Charlotte Hornets have been mired in their worst slump of the season as they are now riding an eight-game losing streak after falling just short to the Nuggets in a 119-115 road defeat last night. LaMelo Ball led the team with 31 points, five rebounds and five assists, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16 points off the bench while Gordon Hayward chipped in with 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Hornets shot just 42 percent from the field and 12 of 38 from the 3-point line as they struggled for most of the game and trailed by as many as 16 points before they rallied with 35 points in the fourth quarter to make it interesting in the end.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have been in pretty good form as they’ve won six of their last nine overall and they will be eager to build on their two-game win streak after sneaking past the Pistons in a 122-113 road win on Friday. De’Aaron Fox led the team with 24 points and nine assists, Domantas Sabonis added 23 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists while Keegan Murray chipped in with 20 points on seven of 13 shooting. As a team, the Kings shot 52 percent from the field and 12 of 31 from the 3-point line as they struggled to contain the Pistons early on and trailed for most of the first half before they took control with 38 points in the third quarter to lead by as many as 13 points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Hornets are 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days rest and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall. The Kings are 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games and 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record.

Head to head, the over is 5-2 in the last seven meetings overall, the Hornets are 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in Sacramento and the Hornets are 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.

The Hornets are still missing Mark Williams and Dennis Smith Jr, while the Kings don’t have a single player listed on the injury report which is such a rarity in the league these days. The Hornets have been ice-cold lately and the return of players like Ball and Hayward really hasn’t helped turn their fortunes around. The Kings come into this one with plenty of momentum and they should be well-rested as they haven’t played since their win over the Pistons on Friday. The line is quite hefty for this one, but the Hornets are playing their second game of a back to back set, so I’ll back the Kings to win big at home in this spot.