Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction, 3/7/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets

Date: Friday, March 7, 2025

Location: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC

TV: FanDuel Sports Network

The Cleveland Cavaliers (52-10) are traveling to Spectrum Center on Friday where they will go up against the Charlotte Hornets (14-47).

The Cavaliers stepped onto the hardwood against the Heat and went home with a win by a final score of 112-107 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Cavaliers left the arena with 19 and the Heat accumulated 19 personal fouls. They made 13 out of their 36 tries from distance. Miami finished shooting 88.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 22 of their 25 tries. Moreover, Miami grabbed 42 rebounds (9 offensive, 33 defensive) and added 4 rejections. Miami distributed 29 assists and had 7 steals in this game. In regard to defense, Cleveland allowed their opponent to shoot 43.4% from the field on 36 out of 83 shooting. They also recorded 26 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 7 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they compiled 47 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Cavaliers made 16 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 72.7%. Cleveland ended the contest having earned a 47.1% FG percentage (41 of 87) and made 14 of 40 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Donovan Mitchell is someone who came through in this game. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 8 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes and also grabbed 7 rebounds. Mitchell ended up shooting 47.1% from the field and totaled 5 assists.

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Cleveland heads into this matchup with a mark of 52-10 so far this season. They have an average of 123.1 points per outing (1st in basketball) while connecting on 49.6% from the floor. The Cavaliers are connecting on 39.3% on shots from distance (1,005 of 2,555) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Cleveland is pulling in 45.4 rebounds per game and has accounted for 1,784 dimes for the year, which is 6th in the league in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 13.0 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Cavaliers are forcing 14.6 turnovers every game while drawing 18.6 personal fouls. They rank 7th in the NBA in giving up assists with 1,580 conceded so far this season. The Cavaliers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 45.3% (2,541 of 5,610) and they concede 43.0 rebounds per contest as a unit. They are giving up 35.8% on 3-point shots and they are 11th in basketball in opponents PPG (111.6).

For their last game, the Hornets took a loss by a final score of 125-110 when they faced the Timberwolves. The Hornets recorded 37 defensive boards and 20 offensive boards totaling 57 for the contest. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while recording 3 steals for the game. The Timberwolves had 17 fouls in this game which got the Hornets to the charity stripe for a total of 18 tries. They were able to bury 14 of those for a rate of 77.8%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Charlotte converted 12 of 42 attempts (28.6%). When this game wrapped up, the Hornets ended up shooting 42 out of 95 from the field which had them sitting at 44.2%. The Hornets permitted the Timberwolves to knock down 44 out of 90 tries from the field which had them shooting 48.9% for the contest. They finished 42.9% from 3-point land by going 21 of 49 and finished the contest at 16 out of 22 at the charity stripe (72.7%). In relation to rebounding, Charlotte allowed Minnesota to collect 43 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

LaMelo Ball ended up having an impact for the Hornets in this game. He knocked down 11 out of 28 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 39.3%, and had 10 rebounds. Ball had 28 points in his 36 mins on the court and accumulated 6 dimes in the matchup.

Charlotte has a mark of 14-47 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Hornets are shooting 42.5% from the floor, which is ranked 30th in basketball. Charlotte has totaled 6,415 pts for the campaign (105.2 per game) and they pull in 45.8 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 23.8 times per contest (27th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 15.5 times per contest. The Hornets commit 19.1 fouls per contest and they hit 77.7% from the free throw line.

The Hornets on the defensive side of the court are 14th in the league in points per game surrendered with 113.1. They are able to force 14.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.6% from the floor (16th in basketball). The Charlotte defense gives up 34.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (841 of 2,414) and opponents are making 78.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 27.0 dimes and 45.3 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 21st and 23rd in basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Cleveland

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