The Charlotte Hornets continue their extended seven-game road trip with a second-straight game at the Staples Center to face the Los Angeles Lakers this Tuesday night in a prime time tip at 10:30 p.m. (ET) on NBA TV. BetAnySports has opened Charlotte as a four-point favorite and the total has been set at 215.
The Hornets current 2-13 straight-up slide has dropped them to 25-34 on the year. Their latest loss was at the hands of the Los Angeles Clippers in a 124-121 setback in overtime on Sunday as 11-point road underdogs. They have been able to cover against the spread in three of their last four games and while the total did go OVER BetAnySports’ closing 212.5-point line against the Clippers, it had stayed UNDER in six of their previous seven games.
Kemba Walker continues to lead Charlotte in scoring with 22.7 points per game and he led the way on Sunday with 34 points while going 6-for-10 from three-point range. The Hornets have had issues closing out games all season long and Sunday’s loss marked the 18th time this season that they had a lead in the fourth quarter and still lost the game. Defensively, they are ranked 10th in the league in points allowed (104.4), but they have allowed more than that average in 14 of their last 16 games.
Lakers Looking to End Skid
The Lakers come into this inter-conference clash with a four-game losing streak both SU and ATS after losing to San Antonio 119-98 on Sunday as 12-point underdogs at home. They are 19-41 SU on the year with a 27-32-1 record ATS. Los Angeles has failed to cover BetAnySports’ closing spread in five of its last seven home games and the total has gone OVER in seven of its last 10 games overall. The Lakers are 12-14-1 ATS at home this season. Lou Williams is now with Houston following last week’s trade, so look for players such as D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram to lead the way in the scoring department. Russell posted 29 points in last Friday’s loss to Oklahoma City and Ingram led the way against the Spurs with 22 points. The real issue is who is actually playing any defense. Los Angeles has allowed an average of 116.3 points over its last six games. I am not quite sure which team gets the SU win on Tuesday since both of these ball clubs have forgotten how to win, but I am betting that they combine to take the total OVER BetAnySports’ current 215-point betting line.
