Spread & Over/Under Predictions for Hornets at Suns

Each game day, we at All Hornets will release an article on our thoughts on the spread and the over/under of Charlotte Hornets games. The star ratings next to the play describe the overall confidence in that particular play.

Star ratings:

1 Star - Not very confident

2 Star - A little confident

3 Star - Fairly confident

4 Star - Very confident

5 Star - Should be a lock to happen

Spread: Suns -15.5

1 Star play on the Suns (-15.5): Charlotte comes into the game on a nine-game losing streak and just added Gordon Hayward to a list of injured starters that includes LaMelo Ball and Mark Williams. 

The Suns on the other hand are getting perennial all-star Bradley Beal back from injury tonight, adding him to a three-headed monster that includes Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. 

Charlotte is on the second night of a back-to-back in the midst of a West Coast road trip, while the Suns had the night off last night.

So why am I only listing this spread pick as my first one-star confidence pick of the season if all of the above points to Phoenix's favor? 

The answer is this Suns team is simply not as cohesive or deep as a team with so many big names could be. Phoenix is 15-15 on the season, including winning only three of their last 10 games. 

Sure Bradley Beal is back, but until the chemistry is there, the talent has not been worth betting on this season.

Phoenix still wins this game most of the time, and covers against this depleted Hornets roster often. This is simply not a line worth pursuing with the range of margins possible. If the line were closer to 9-11 points, it might be a different story.

Over/Under: 230.5

3 Star play on the under: Now this line is a bit more intriguing. The lines imply roughly a 123-107 game in favor of Phoenix. Charlotte has had a hard time putting that many points up during the nine-game losing streak, missing it five times during that stretch. 

Phoenix on the other hand has not been scoring efficiently enough to hit their side of things lately either. This includes games against some of the league's bottom defenses like Washington, Brooklyn, Dallas, and Sacramento.

The potential for Beal to come back hot, or the Hornets injuries piling up to result in a game similar to the recent blowout against the Sixers, leave the door open for the over. Siding with some rust and lack of chemistry on Phoenix's side seems like the way to go though.

My picks this season

ATS: 3-2 (60%)

O/U: 2-3 (40%)

Overall: 5-5 (50%)

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