Charlotte Hornets vs Philadelphia 76ers: Can Hornets sustain their scoring?

In this typical Easter Conference battle, the Charlotte Hornets play host to the Philadelphia 76ers in a cross-conference match-up. The Hornets have won two games above the 50% win mark while Philly is also two games above the mark. Can Hornets put up another offensive show at home? For a quick overview, head to the “Notes” section.

Differential similarities: Both teams have played two Overtime games among their five contests. Both teams have seen collectively nine out of their last ten games being decided in the 1-5 points differential. It means both teams have played some crunch-time basketball and multiple thrillers. During their last meeting, the depleted Hornets pushed a relatively healthier Sixers to the brink but unfortunately fell just three points short. Yes, the Hornets have lost most of their close games lately but they have shown that their trigger-happy shooting approach can do some good in keeping it close. Sixers on the other hand will hope that they finally stem the flow of the Hornets’ offensive grinder.

Points, points, points: Whether they win or lose, Charlotte sucks you in its pace. The Hornets stack up points and the opponents also oblige. Moth of their games fall in the 118-135 points range and you can clearly see how much high-scoring these games turn out to be. Hornets are in love with shootouts and despite playing without Rozier and Ball, Kelly Oubre Jr., Bridges, and Hayward have shown that either one of them or two of them can score in the 25-35 points range. Hornets love scoring points and even a full-fledged Sixers defense couldn’t stop them from piling up the number.

Philly is finally healthy: After missing Embiid for around 20 days last month and with Tobias Harris going in and out, the Sixers have had trouble fielding a healthy squad. Now, the team has gotten back their leader in Embiid and he has had straightaway created difficulties for the opponents, hoarding around 25-40 points and 10-15 rebounds every now and then. Philly looks lost without Joel Embiid and he is certainly the central nervous system for this outfit.

Here are some quick hitters related to the game:

• Hornets have scored 124(OT), 130, 125, 119, 143(OT), 133 in the last five games;
• Hornets have allowed 127(OT), 127, 127, 133, 146(OT), 115 in the last five games;
• 76ers have scored 127(OT)98, 87, 101, 120(OT) in the last five games;
• 76ers have allowed 124(OT) 96, 88, 96, 121(OT) in the last five games. Philadelphia 76ers has won eight games and lost six games away from home;
• Hornets have lost four of their last five games;
• Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 35 points in the last game versus Philly;
• Embiid scored 43 points in the last game versus the Hornets;
• Embiid has grabbed rebounds in the 10-15 range;
• PJ Washington has grabbed 8 or more rebounds in the last two games;
• Ish Smith, Terry Rozier, LaMelo Ball, Mason Plumlee, and Jalen McDaniels are out for the Hornets;
• Do check injury lists before placing your bets.

Points Range: “Points” is the word that Charlotte Hornets loves to death. They lead the league in scoring and have put up 115-125 points like a routine job. The opponents also start loving the word “points” when they are in the vicinity of this team and again, opponents have also figured in the 115-125 points range consistently. Will the trend break here? Who knows, Charlotte is without a legitimate Point Guard but has three top-notch iso scorers, perhaps the trend will not break. What is the points range prediction? I predict the 217-229 range, which is lesser than the norm in Charlotte Hornets games!

Prediction: See, don’t be surprised if Charlotte bags this one, playing at home and with a stacked offense are two brilliant combinations. The Sixers beat them the last time and don’t be surprised if they beat them again. Nah, I am not giving a two-way judgment, it is just that the Charlotte games are just so high scoring that things are usually interesting till the end. Instead of picking a winner, I pick the scoring line of 115:106.

• Home Team Total Points: Over 105.5 for 1.90;
• Over 217.5 for 1.92;
• Player Props: Miles Bridges: Over 19.5 for 1.86.