The Charlotte Hornets travel to the Smoothie King Center to take on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
The Charlotte Hornets have been in a real slump as they’ve lost 13 of their last 17 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting routed by the Celtics in a 115-101 loss on Wednesday. PJ Washington and Miles Bridges each scored 17 points, LaMelo Ball tallied 15 points with eight rebounds and four assists while Terry Rozier chipped in with 14 points and five steals. As a team, the Hornets shot just 42 percent from the field and eight of 32 from the 3-point line as they did a nice job of hanging with the Celtics for most of the game, until the fourth quarter where the Celtics went on a ferocious run to put them behind by as many as 21 points at one stage.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in a bit of a rut as they will be hoping to put an end to a three-game skid after coming up short against the Magic in a 108-102 loss on Wednesday. CJ McCollum led the team with 32 points and eight assists on 14 of 27 shooting, Jonas Valanciunas added 30 points with 15 rebounds while Herbert Jones chipped in with 15 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot 44 percent from the field and seven of 31 from the 3-point line, but they were always fighting an uphill battle in this one after scoring just 17 points in the first quarter to fall behind by double-digits early. McCollum was on fire for the Pelicans, but he needed more support from the bench who combined for just 15 points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Hornets are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six road games, 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a double-digit loss at home and 4-9-2 ATS in their last 15 games overall. The Pelicans are 9-1 ATS in their last 10 Friday games and 6-2-1 ATS in their last nine games against a team with a losing record.
Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Hornets are 10-22-1 ATS in the last 33 meetings overall and the Hornets are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in New Orleans.
The Hornets should have Jalen McDaniels back in the lineup, but James Bouknight is still listed as out, while the Pelicans have already ruled out Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. The Hornets were disappointing in the way they faded in the fourth quarter against the Celtics on Wednesday, but they have a chance to bounce back against a depleted Pelicans team missing their two best scorers. This should be an ugly contest, but the Hornets are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings overall and I think they can escape with a narrow win in this spot.