Pick against the spread, over/under for Lakers vs. Hornets on Friday

The Los Angeles Lakers (24-25) will take on the Charlotte Hornets (27-22) on the road at Spectrum Center Friday night, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m ET. The Lakers are coming off a 105-87 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers as they continue their Eastern Conference road swing. The Hornets, 7-3 in their last 10, come into this game on the back of a 158-126 blowout over the Indiana Pacers Wednesday.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Hornets favored by eight points, priced at -335 on the moneyline. The Lakers are at +260 while the point total is set at 227.

Update: Both LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been ruled out of Friday’s contest against the Hornets. It might be best to go with the home team against the spread with this injury update.

Lakers vs. Hornets, 7:30 p.m. ET

Pick ATS: Lakers +8 (-110)

The Lakers have gone 3-3 ATS in their last six outings, four of which have been on the road. LeBron James didn’t play in the loss against the Sixers on Thursday due to a sore knee, but Anthony Davis picked up the slack and put up 31 points and 12 rebounds. James is still day-to-day ahead of tonight’s contest. The Hornets have been in fantastic form led by LaMelo Ball, who’s averaging 19.4 points, 7.7 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game this year, paving the way for Charlotte to be ranked third in the league in offensive rating. Their defense hasn’t been great though, ranking near the bottom.

Whether the Hornets win or not, the margin is wide enough that the Lakers should be able to keep it close especially with Charlotte’s weak defense. Anthony Davis should step up again and be able to score points with or without LeBron, while Russell Westbrook should add some value to the offense tonight as well. Take the Lakers to cover.

Over/Under: Over 228 (-110)

Both LA and Charlotte are ranked fairly low in scoring defense, with the Hornets allowing an average of 114.6 points per game, while the Lakers aren’t much better allowing 112.2 this season. We know both teams have solid offenses, as was put on display the other night with Charlotte scoring a massive 158 points against the Pacers. Both teams also like to play at a faster pace, so expect a lot of scoring on both ends of the court.

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