Hornets vs Cavaliers

Cleveland’s backcourt, driven by Donovan Mitchell’s 48-point eruption in Friday’s comeback win over Washington, should be enough to justify laying the heavy -500 moneyline against a Hornets team that has dropped four of its last five and is reeling on this road swing. The Cavaliers have taken three of their last five games and are back home at Rocket Arena, where Mitchell is averaging over 30 points on strong shooting splits, while Charlotte arrives with a thin guard rotation and no LaMelo Ball, Collin Sexton, Tre Mann or Josh Green, forcing even more on-ball creation onto Miles Bridges and a young supporting cast. Cleveland is also banged up — Evan Mobley is out with a calf strain and depth pieces like Max Strus, Larry Nance Jr. and Sam Merrill are sidelined or limited — but their remaining core of Mitchell, Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter has historically handled Charlotte, with Mitchell averaging roughly 24 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds across his career vs the Hornets, and the Cavs still own the clearly superior efficiency profile on both ends. Bridges’ history of big nights against Cleveland, including his 46-point outburst last March, is the main risk to a Cavs moneyline ticket, but with both teams still short of the 41-game mark and the gap in overall talent plus home-court advantage this large, I’m backing Cleveland at -500 on the moneyline with a Grade B: highly likely to cash, though the payout is modest relative to the stake. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/12/2025 09:38.

Donovan Mitchell’s current scoring binge, combined with Charlotte’s porous defense and three-point-heavy profile, nudges me toward the Over 234.5 (-112) despite the inflated total. Cleveland enters scoring around 119 points per game while allowing roughly 116, and Charlotte is giving up close to 119 per night while scoring about 115, so their season-long numbers already point to a combined total in the mid-230s before factoring in pace and shot profile. Both teams are among the league leaders in made threes — the Cavs around 15 per game and the Hornets near 14 — and Charlotte’s opponents are knocking down triples at an alarming clip, which is dangerous against a Cavs group where Mitchell alone is hitting more than four threes per game and just dropped eight from deep in Washington. With Mobley out, Cleveland loses a key rim protector and switch defender, often turning these games into higher-scoring, perimeter-oriented contests, while the Hornets’ injuries to LaMelo Ball and several guards hurt their playmaking but haven’t stopped Bridges, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller from generating high-usage, high-variance offense. Blowout risk and Charlotte’s inconsistent half-court execution keep this from elite status, yet the combination of hot shooting form, defensive absences and both teams’ recent track record of playing into the high 220s and 230s makes Over 234.5 (-112) my lean with a Grade B- for a reasonable blend of likelihood and payout. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/12/2025 09:38.

Miles Bridges has repeatedly caused problems for Cleveland — averaging strong scoring and rebounding lines in recent matchups and erupting for 46 points in their thriller last March — and that history, paired with the Cavs’ frontcourt injuries, makes Charlotte +11 (-109) an appealing way to attack this game even with the Hornets on a 1-4 skid over their last five. Charlotte has been losing, but often competitively, including a narrow 129-126 defeat to Chicago and a late fade against Denver, while Cleveland’s recent 3-2 stretch has featured more close finishes than blowouts, suggesting some vulnerability in covering double-digit numbers when shots stop falling or Mitchell has to carry too much of the load. With Mobley, Strus and Nance out and Jarrett Allen banged up, the Cavs are thinner up front and more dependent on small lineups, which can open the door for Bridges and versatile forwards like Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel to attack mismatches, get to the line and keep this within single digits even if Charlotte never truly threatens the outright upset. The Hornets are ravaged in the backcourt — LaMelo, Sexton, Mann and others remain out — so there’s clear blowout potential if their offense stalls, but given Bridges’ track record versus Cleveland, the Cavs’ injury-driven depth issues and Charlotte’s ability to hang around in recent losses, I’m taking the points with Hornets +11 (-109) at a Grade B for solid value on a side that can backdoor this number late. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/12/2025 09:38.