Portland Trail Blazers (11-18) vs Charlotte Hornets (16-14)
Game Info: Friday, December 17, 2021 at 10:00 pm (Moda Center at the Rose Quarter)
Betting Odds: Portland Trail Blazers -2 -- Over/Under: 228 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers meet Friday in NBA action at the Moda Center. The Charlotte Hornets need a win after losing six of their last nine games. The Portland Trail Blazers look to snap a seven-game losing streak.
The Charlotte Hornets are averaging 115.6 points on 46.5 percent shooting and allowing 116.4 points on 47.1 percent shooting. LaMelo Ball is averaging 20 points and 8.3 assists, while Miles Bridges is averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds. Gordon Hayward is the third double-digit scorer and Terry Rozier is dishing 3.6 assists. The Charlotte Hornets are shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc and 73.8 percent from the free throw line. The Charlotte Hornets are allowing 35.4 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 43.5 rebounds per game.
The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 108 points on 44.9 percent shooting and allowing 111.2 points on 47.2 percent shooting. Damian Lillard is averaging 22 points and 4.2 rebounds, while CJ McCollum is averaging 20.6 points and 4.5 assists. Norman Powell is the third double-digit scorer and Jusuf Nurkic is grabbing 10.3 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 34.8 percent from beyond the arc and 78 percent from the free throw line. The Portland Trail Blazers are allowing 38 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44 rebounds per game.
The Hornets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Friday games and 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Trail Blazers are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games and 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The over is 8-1-1 in Hornets last 10 overall. The under is 3-1-1 in Trail Blazers last 5 overall. The Hornets are 2-11 ATS in the last 13 meetings in Portland.
The Portland Trail Blazers have to win a game eventually, but the bottom line is they're still missing a lot of key players, and they're losing their last five games by an average of 8.2 points while shooting just 42.1 percent from the field. The Charlotte Hornets are starting to get guys back into the mix and Ball has been upgraded to questionable. The Trail Blazers have to prove they can stop the bleeding before I back them in the favorite role. I'll take the free bucket with the Hornets.
Randy’s Pick Charlotte Hornets +2
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds