Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/9/2025 Preview and Pick
Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers
Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025
Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA
TV: Spectrum Sportsnet
Crypto.com Arena is the location where the Los Angeles Lakers (20-16) will take on the Charlotte Hornets (8-27) on Thursday.
The Hornets played the Suns and took home the win by a score of 115-104 in their last game. Charlotte finished with a 38.8% FG percentage (38 out of 98) and converted 13 out of their 47 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Hornets buried 26 of their 29 tries for a percentage of 89.7%. With regard to rebounding, they compiled a total of 59 with 20 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 23 dimes for the matchup while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 9 steals. When talking about defending, Charlotte allowed the other team to shoot 42.4% from the field on 39 of 92 shooting. Phoenix doled out 27 dimes and had 3 steals in the matchup. Furthermore, Phoenix collected 42 boards (8 offensive, 34 defensive) and added 5 rejections. Phoenix finished shooting 94.7% at the free throw line by making 18 of 19 tries. They converted 8 of 33 attempts from long range. Concerning personal fouls, the Hornets walked away with 19 and the Suns accounted for 23 personal fouls.
LaMelo Ball is one player who came through for this contest. He walked away with 32 points on 12 out of 28 shooting. He played 35 minutes and also totaled 10 boards. Ball finished the contest at 42.9% from the floor and dished out 7 assists.
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Charlotte enters this matchup with a mark of 8-27 on the campaign. They currently have an average of 106.1 pts per game (29th in the league) while shooting 42.5% from the field. The Hornets are shooting 34.1% on three-point shots (500 of 1,467) and 77.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Charlotte is grabbing 46.2 boards per contest and has 819 dimes so far this season, which is 27th in the league in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 16.0 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 20.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.
When they are on defense, the Hornets are forcing 14.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are giving up 35.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 15th in basketball in PPG allowed (112.2). The Hornets are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 46.4% (1,416 of 3,052) and they concede 44.4 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 11th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 917 conceded so far this season.
When they last stepped on the court, the Lakers took a loss by a score of 118-97 when they faced the Mavericks. The Lakers were able to pull down 28 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds totaling 33 in the matchup. They coughed it up 10 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. The Mavericks earned 16 personal fouls for the contest which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to convert 18 of the free throw tries for a clip of 75.0%. In terms of shots from beyond the perimeter, Los Angeles converted 11 out of their 35 attempts (31.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers ended up going 34 for 75 from the floor which had them sitting at 45.3%. The Lakers allowed the Mavericks to convert 45 out of 86 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 52.3% for this game. They finished shooting 47.4% from 3-point land by going 18 out of 38 and ended up going 10 out of 14 at the charity stripe (71.4%). In regard to rebounds, Los Angeles permitted Dallas to get 44 in total (11 on the offensive side).
Anthony Davis was important for the Lakers in this matchup. Davis totaled 21 points in his 35 minutes on the hardwood and added 3 assists for this contest. He knocked down 7 of 18 for this game for a field goal rate of 38.9%, and had 12 rebounds.
Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 20-16 on the campaign. The Lakers have committed 16.4 personal fouls every game and they hit 78.9% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 26.3 times per contest (12th in the league) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per contest. Los Angeles has 4,026 pts on the season (111.8 per contest) and they collect 41.4 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are hitting on 47.3% from the floor, which ranks them 9th in the league.
The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 20th in basketball in points allowed per game with 114.0. They have forced 14.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.7% from the field (25th in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense gives up 36.2% on 3-point shots (481 of 1,330) and opponents are making 78.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 27.9 assists and 44.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 24th and 18th in basketball.
Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles
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Additional Resources:
Los Angeles Lakers - Twitter
Charlotte Hornets - Twitter