Free NBA Pick: Hornets vs. Nuggets NBA Odds
Looking for Charlotte Hornets vs. Denver Nuggets free NBA picks & NBA Odds? NBA betting sees the Hornets taking on the Nuggets on Sunday, December 18th, at Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Hornets-Nuggets matchup.
2022 NBA Handicapping
(7-22) Charlotte Hornets vs. Denver Nuggets (17-11)
Date: Sunday, December 18th
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Venue: Ball Arena Denver, Colorado
NBA Moneyline Odds: Hornets +295 | Nuggets -476 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Nuggets -9
NBA Betting Total: 237.5
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Sunday, December 18th, finds the Charlotte Hornets playing the Denver Nuggets in the first of two scheduled matches this season. Charlotte will host on February 11th.
Both teams last played on Friday with the Hornets losing 106-125 to the Hawks while the Nuggets lost 108-126 to the Lakers
Last season the clubs played twice with the teams splitting the series each winning on the opponent’s court. The Nuggets hold the all-time record having bested the Hornets in 34 of their 64 matches
*Editor’s Note: Statistics and rankings are current as of this writing Saturday, December 17 Numbers may vary slightly entering games on Sunday, December 18.
Charlotte Hornets
In the offseason, the thinking in Charlotte was the youngsters would take a step upward, improve their defensive effort behind the coaching of Steve Clifford and vie for a home-court seed.
But Murphy’s Law kicked in (anything that can go wrong — WILL). Gordon Hayward can’t seem to stay healthy missing all but 11 matches this season plus there was the whole off-court drama of Miles Bridges
Worse was the team’s cornerstone LaMelo Ball injured his ankle at the end of the preseason knocking him out for the initial 13 games.
He returned to play three games and then arbitrarily hurt the ankle again stepping on a spectator’s foot trying to save the ball from going out of bounds sidelining him for a further 11 games. By the time Melo was back on the court the Hornets had the worst record in the NBA.
If you’re an optimist you look at the glass half full and say to yourself – gee Victor Wembanyama and LaMelo Ball sure would be a lethal one-two punch. The question is whether MJ and the Hornets will be willing to tank in an effort to win the VW sweepstakes.
Charlotte scores 110.1 points per game ranking 27th league-wide. From an efficiency standpoint, they allow opponents to shoot 44.3 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from the perimeter ranking 30th and 28th respectively.
Defensively, Charlotte is giving up an average of 117.3 points on average which ranks 28th. Opponents shoot 48.0 percent from the field ranking 24th and 35.7 percent from the perimeter ranking 17th.
Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle) PJ Washington (personal), and Mark Williams (ankle) are questionable. Cody Martin (quad) remains out indefinitely.
Denver Nuggets
Once again, the Nuggets failed to take care of business in a winnable match where Anthony Davis exited at the half with a foot injury. Denver held a 12-point lead but let the Lakers back into the game in the second half because they didn’t play defense with a sense of urgency.
Nikola Jokic is averaging a double-double this season in his 23 appearances with 24.6 points and 10.3 rebounds as well as 9.0 assists and 1.4 steals.
He’s taking 14.7 shots and connecting at 63.4 percent efficiency from the field shooting 30.5 percent from the perimeter on 2.5 attempts and getting to the line 6.5 times per match connecting at an 80.8 percent efficiency.
Denver ranks seventh in scoring averaging 115.7 points per game and first for proficiency from the field: 50.9%, and also possesses the best perimeter percentage: 39.0%.
Defensively, they rank 18th for opponent scoring allowing 114.8 points per game, while foes shoot 49.1% from the field and 37.0% from the perimeter ranking 29th and 25th overall.
Nikola Jokic (knee) and Jamal Murray (ankle) are both probable. Michael Porter Jr. (heel) and Collin Gillespie (leg fracture) are out.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Hornets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games.
- Nuggets are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games.
- Hornets are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games on the road.
- Nuggets are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games at home.
Free Charlotte Hornets vs. Denver Nuggets NBA Prediction:
This match marks the start of a six-game road trip for the Hornets while the Nuggets begin a home-heavy schedule with 15 of their next 19 games at Ball Arena.
Denver has frustrated me more than any team this season because they have the talent and ability to be doing in the West what the Celtics are doing in the East but they just don’t commit every game (or for a full 48 minutes).
I’m seriously beginning to think they’re doing this on purpose to stay out of the spotlight and sneak up on everyone because the Nuggets and Grizzlies (in my opinion) are the scariest teams in the West (Pelicans – third because of lack of playoff experience and Zion injury concerns).
Theorthetically this should be a blowout but don’t be surprised if the Hornets keep the game close.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Hornets +9
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