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The Friday night NBA slate brings us a battle of two potential playoff teams in the Eastern Conference as the Cleveland Cavaliers hit the road to meet the Charlotte Hornets.
Cleveland (31-21) will look to regroup after falling to the Rockets 115-104 on Wednesday. The Cavs fell behind in the second quarter and had to play catchup for the rest of the road matchup. They did get another strong performance from rookie center Evan Mobley, who dropped 29 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. For tonight’s game, Cleveland will once again be without newly minted All-Star Darius Garland, who has missed the previous two contests with back soreness.
Charlotte (28-24) has dropped two straight heading into tonight, last falling 113-107 to the Celtics on Wednesday. This was a seesaw battle throughout and Boston was able to get the upperhand at the end. All-Star snub LaMelo Ball went off for 38 points, nine assists, and six rebounds in the loss.
Charlotte enters the game as a 4.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook. The total is set at 218.5.
Cavaliers vs. Hornets, 7:00 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Hornets -4.5
The continued absence of Garland will once again have an impact on the Cavs on the road, even with Mobley making a push for Rookie of the Year. On top of that, both LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges will probably be looking to make a statement after missing the All-Star reserves list last night. Lay it with the Hornets.
Over/Under: Under 218.5
Cleveland has allowed just 103.4 points per game over its last 10 outings. Even though its a clear road underdog, it’ll still muck things up enough for the Hornets to trigger the under here.
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