Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 3/18/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Odds/Point Spread: Charlotte (+8)

The Los Angeles Lakers (27-13) play the Charlotte Hornets (20-18) at STAPLES Center on Thursday. Charlotte opens this matchup as 8-point dogs. The total is set at 227.5.

The Charlotte Hornets faced the Sacramento Kings and notched a win by a score of 122-116 in their last game. Charlotte wrapped up the contest having earned a 47.9% FG percentage (45 out of 94) and buried 12 out of their 30 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Hornets converted 20 of their 25 tries for a rate of 80.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned 46 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 30 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. In terms of defending, Charlotte allowed the other team to go 55.8% from the field on 48 out of 86 shooting. Sacramento distributed 28 dimes and had 7 steals in the matchup. Moreover, Sacramento had 44 boards (4 offensive, 40 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Sacramento ended up shooting 64.7% when shooting free throws by converting 11 of 17 attempts. They knocked down 9 of 31 shots from long range.

Terry Rozier is one player who was a major contributor in the matchup. He notched 26 points on 7 of 18 shooting. He was on the court for 33:43 minutes and also totaled 4 rebounds. Rozier finished shooting 38.9% from the floor and earned 3 assists. An additional guy that had an impact in the matchup for the Hornets was Gordon Hayward. He pulled down 8 rebounds in 36:19 minutes played on the night. He went 56.3% from the floor for the matchup by going 9-of-16 (25 points). When all was said and done, Hayward had accumulated 4 assists.

Charlotte comes into this matchup with a record of 20-18 this year. The Hornets are connecting on 38.6% on 3-pointers (532 of 1,380) and 78.2% from the free throw line. They average 112.8 pts per contest (15th in the NBA) on 46.4% from the floor. They are turning it over 15.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 18.5 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Charlotte is pulling down 44.3 boards per contest and has accounted for 1,035 dimes this year, which is 6th in the NBA in terms of passing. When they are on defense, the Hornets are able to force 15.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.8 fouls. They are ranked 29th in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,070 relinquished this season. The Hornets defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 47.1% (597 of 715) and they relinquish 44.7 rebounds per contest as a squad. They concede 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 21st in the league in opponents points per game (112.7).

In their last game, the Los Angeles Lakers went home victorious with a score of 137-121 when they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers recorded 33 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 43 in this game. They gave up possession 13 times, while getting 3 steals for the game. The Timberwolves committed 21 fouls for the game which took the Lakers to the free throw line for 28 attempts. They were able to convert 24 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to 3-pointers, Los Angeles converted 13 out of 26 attempts (50.0%). When the game finished, the Lakers went 50 out of 87 from the field which had them shooting 57.5%. The Lakers allowed the Timberwolves to make 47 of 90 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 52.2% for the matchup. They shot 31.4% from 3-point land by shooting 11 of 35 and ended up going 16 of 22 at the charity stripe (72.7%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Los Angeles allowed Minnesota to collect 34 in all (8 on the offensive glass).

LeBron James pitched in for the Lakers in the game. He made 8 out of 14 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and accounted for 12 rebounds. James scored 25 points in his 31:12 minutes of playing time and earned 12 dimes for this game. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Los Angeles was Dennis Schröder. He ended up walking away with 7 assists in 32:01 mins played, and he put in 5 of 11 from the floor. Schröder ended up shooting 45.5% from the field in addition to earning 16 points and 1 rebound.

Los Angeles has a record of 27-13 for the campaign. As an offense, the Lakers are hitting on 48.6% from the field, which ranks them 5th in the league. Los Angeles has scored 4,491 points on the campaign (112.3 per game) and they average 45.3 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 25.0 times per game (15th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 15.2 times per game. The Lakers are responsible for committing 19.1 fouls per game and they shoot 74.9% from the free throw line. The Lakers on defense are ranked 2nd in the NBA in PPG given up with 106.3. The Los Angeles defense concedes 35.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (464 of 1,316) and their opponents are converting on 76.2% of their free throw shots. They have given up 25.0 assists and 41.2 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 19th and 2nd in the league. They are forcing their opponents into 14.8 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.4% from the floor (6th in the NBA).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-8)

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