Charlotte Hornets vs Brooklyn Nets

LaMelo Ball leads a Hornets group riding its first two-game win streak of the season into Brooklyn, where the Nets limp in on a four-game skid and an 0-9 home record, making current form clearly tilt toward Charlotte despite their earlier seven-game slide. With Charlotte relatively healthy at the top of the rotation (Ball, Miles Bridges, Brandon Miller and Collin Sexton) and only role pieces like Pat Connaughton, Josh Green and Grant Williams sidelined, they look more stable than a Nets team still missing Cam Thomas and Haywood Highsmith and only listing Michael Porter Jr. and Noah Clowney as banged-up but probable. The matchup history also leans Hornets after they shredded this same Nets core 136-117 in the opener behind big nights from Miller, Bridges and Ball while limiting a Porter/Claxton-led Brooklyn attack, and there’s little evidence the Nets’ shaky defense or young guards have tightened up since. I’m willing to lay the juice on Charlotte’s moneyline at -187 with a B-grade confidence level: it’s safer than the spread, but the price isn’t cheap enough to earn an A. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 01/12/2025 09:44am

Michael Porter Jr.’s high-usage scoring, combined with Charlotte’s two-game surge where they just dropped 118 in an overtime win over a red-hot Raptors team, sets up another up-tempo script against a Nets squad that has lost four straight while bleeding points to everyone, including 116 to Milwaukee in their latest blowout. Significant injuries actually push this toward a faster, looser game: the Hornets are down defensive wings like Connaughton and Grant Williams, while Brooklyn is missing key rotation defender Haywood Highsmith and microwave scorer Cam Thomas, forcing both coaches deeper into offensive-minded youth and small lineups. The first meeting flew over this same number when Charlotte hung 136 on Brooklyn and the two teams combined for 253 points, and with LaMelo, Bridges, Miller and Sexton on one side and Porter, Nic Claxton and a group of aggressive young guards on the other, the shot volume and transition chances should again be there even if efficiency regresses a bit. I’ll lean to Over 228.5 at -106 for a B- grade, acknowledging some risk if Brooklyn’s offense stalls but trusting pace, defensive issues and prior matchup history to carry this past the total. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 01/12/2025 09:44am

Miles Bridges and the Hornets enter Barclays on a modest two-game heater against quality opponents, facing a Nets team that has dropped four in a row, is winless at home, and just got run off the floor by Milwaukee, which makes backing the more confident side at -4.5 attractive even if Charlotte’s earlier seven-game slide still lingers in bettors’ minds. The injury report favors the road favorite, with Charlotte mostly intact at the top of the depth chart while Brooklyn must cover without Cam Thomas and Haywood Highsmith and with Porter Jr. and Terance Mann nursing knocks, thinning out their already shaky wing defense and late-game shot creation. Charlotte already covered easily in the opener when they beat these same Nets by 19, powered by balanced scoring from Bridges, Miller and Ball and anchored by Nic Claxton struggling to fully contain their spread pick-and-roll, and Brooklyn’s underlying defensive issues haven’t disappeared since. I’m laying the points with Charlotte -4.5 at -105, but only for a C+ grade because of classic letdown risk, the Hornets’ own inconsistency, and the possibility that a healthier Porter narrows the margin in crunch time. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 01/12/2025 09:44am