Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction 1/21/2026 Today’s NBA Picks

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Hornets duke it out at the Spectrum Center on Wednesday night.

Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview 

The Cleveland Cavaliers have cooled off a bit recently as they’ve dropped five of their last nine games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting trampled by the Thunder in a 136-104 loss on Monday. Donovan Mitchell led the team with 19 points while Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, Jaylon Tyson and De’Andre Hunter each scored 16 points. As a team, the Cavaliers shot just 37 percent from the field and eight of 35 from the 3-point line as they struggled against the defense of the Thunder from the start and trailed by 15 points at halftime, before they leaked 45 points in the fourth quarter to get completely blown out on the road. De’Andre Hunter had a rough game as he shot just three of 13 from the field while Dean Wade finished scoreless on zero of two shooting. 

Charlotte Hornets Betting Preview 

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets have been in pretty good form lately as they’ve won five of their last nine games overall and they will be eager to build some momentum after making light work of the Nuggets in a 110-87 road win on Sunday. Brandon Miller led the team with 23 points on eight of 15 shooting, Ryan Kalkbrenner added 17 points on eight of 10 shooting off the bench while Collin Sexton and Kon Knueppel each scored 14 points. As a team, the Hornets shot 49 percent from the field and 11 of 34 from the 3-point line as they jumped all over the Nuggets from the very start to take a 60-34 lead into halftime and they kept their foot on the gas until the lead ballooned to 33 points at one stage. LaMelo Ball had a quiet game of just 10 points on four of 11 shooting but he played just 19 minutes with the game locked up by halftime. 

Cleveland v Charlotte Free Prediction

The Cavaliers are still missing Darius Garland, Max Strus and Sam Merrill, while the Hornets are still missing Mason Plumlee and KJ Simpson. The Cavaliers could really do with a win to get back on track after getting humbled by the Thunder in their last outing, but they are still banged up and are now up against a streaky Hornets team who are coming into this one fresh off a massive win over the Nuggets. The Cavaliers are always going to be favorites in this matchup and they should be good enough to get the win, but I think they are vulnerable at the moment and I like the Hornets to pull off another upset at home in this spot.

Peter Tran's Pick: Charlotte +2.5