Charlotte Hornets vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/23/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Thursday, December 23, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: Bally Sports SE-CHA

Ball Arena is the site where the Denver Nuggets (15-14) will compete against the Charlotte Hornets (16-17) on Thursday.

The Hornets stepped onto the hardwood against the Jazz and went home with a loss by a final score of 112-102 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Hornets ended up walking away with 25 and the Jazz totaled 17 fouls. They also knocked down 16 out of their 53 shots from 3-point land. Utah went 75.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 28 of 37 attempts. Moreover, Utah collected 46 rebounds (22 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 4 blocked shots. Utah doled out 68 assists and had 21 steals for the game. Regarding defending, Charlotte allowed the other team to go 35.4% from the floor on 34 of 96 shooting. They also recorded 27 assists in the game while creating 6 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In terms of rebounding, they earned 51 with 11 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Hornets buried 9 of their 9 attempts for a rate of 100.0%. Charlotte walked away from the contest having earned a 38.6% field goal percentage (39 out of 101) and converted 15 of their 43 3-point shots.

LaMelo Ball is one player who was a factor for the game. He accumulated 21 points on 8 out of 20 shooting. He played for 33 mins played and totaled 6 boards. Ball ended up shooting 40.0% from the floor and also distributed 11 assists.

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Charlotte will enter this game with a mark of 16-17 this year. They currently have an average of 114.9 pts per game (2nd in the NBA) while shooting 45.9% from the field. The Hornets are hitting 37.9% on three-point attempts (468 of 1,236) and 74.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Charlotte is pulling down 43.6 boards per game and has accounted for 877 assists on the year, which is 1st in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn it over 12.9 times per game and as a group are committing 19.2 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Hornets have forced 15.1 turnovers per game while drawing 19.3 fouls. They currently rank 30th in basketball in giving up assists with 869 surrendered on the campaign. The Hornets defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.1% (1,413 of 2,998) and they concede 48.2 boards per game as a group. They surrender 35.9% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 30th in the NBA in points per game allowed (117.1).

The last time they took the court, the Nuggets went home victorious with a score of 133-115 when they faced the Hawks. The Nuggets collected 34 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 38 in this matchup. They also coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 9 steals in this game. The Hawks committed 15 fouls in the matchup which got the Nuggets to the charity stripe for 18 shots. They were able to convert 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 88.9%. In relation to three-point attempts, Denver converted 17 of their 38 tries (44.7%). Overall, the Nuggets shot 50 for 86 from the floor which had them shooting 58.1%. The Nuggets permitted the Hawks to convert 41 of 88 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 46.6% for the contest. They shot 29.2% from distance by connecting on 7 out of 24 and finished the game at 26 of 34 at the charity stripe (76.5%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Denver permitted Atlanta to pull down 27 in all (10 offensive).

Nikola Jokic ended up being a major contributor for the Nuggets in the matchup. Jokic recorded 20 points in his 26 minutes on the court and had 7 dimes for the game. He converted 8 of 12 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and earned 10 rebounds.

Denver has a win-loss mark of 15-14 for the season. The Nuggets are committing 18.8 fouls per game and they go 77.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 25.8 times per game (5th in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 13.6 times per contest. Denver has totaled 3,097 points on the year (106.8 per contest) and they collect 42.1 boards per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Nuggets are shooting 46.8% from the field, which has them ranked 4th in the NBA.

The Nuggets on defense are ranked 11th in the NBA in PPG given up with 106.5. They are able to force 14.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.0% from the field (27th in basketball). The Denver defense gives up 34.5% on three-point shots (338 of 981) and their opponents are making 74.1% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 24.3 assists and 44.0 boards per game, which is ranked 18th and 10th in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Charlotte

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