SAD NEWS: LaMelo Ball Announce His Resignation and Departure From Charlotte Hornets Today
I don’t get the line of Utah -9.5 in this game at all. Utah comes out of the break having lost four straight, and they’re moving forward with a youth movement post-deadline.
While this could position the Jazz well for the future, I think this gives Charlotte the upper hand in the interim.
I don’t see the new look Hornets slowing down in this one.
This new Charlotte team was cooking before the break. Can they continue their momentum? I think so.
Utah is 17-10 at home this year, so it won’t be easy but I’m a believer in this new Hornets rotation.
The Hornets haven’t won on the road in Utah since 2006(!).
Utah naturally has a strong home court advantage due to playing at altitude, add on that Charlotte’s players have likely been on the beach for the last week.
I’m concerned about their wind and being able to play all four quarters.
As alluded to above, the Charlotte Hornets made a few moves at the trade deadline that might seem relatively inconsequential on the surface but have already yielded interesting results.
One such move was trading Gordon Hayward to the Okahoma City Thunder for Tre Mann, Davis Bertans, and Vasilije Micic.
In their first three games for the Hornets, Mann, Bertans, and Micic have helped the team put together a 3-0 record, including wins against the Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, and Indiana Pacers.
While these are not elite opponents, neither is the Utah Jazz, a team that is in 11th place in the Western Conference.
After a short spurt of wins in January, Utah has negatively regressed with four consecutive losses.
The Jazz have also lost four of their past six home games, which is hardly a good sign for the remainder of their 2023-24 campaign.
Utah has an obvious size advantage in the frontcourt and has a more talented roster overall.
However, the Hornets only need to lose by single-digits for us to cash here. We never feel great about backing Charlotte, but this is about as good as we can feel.
