Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers Betting Preview/Player Prop
18 May 2021
Charlotte earned the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference by going 33-39 during the regular season. The Hornets could have avoided this situation altogether, but losing five straight games to close out the regular season has them on the brink of elimination.
Indiana was expected to be a top-four team in the East this season, but it has not been a good run in Indianapolis. The Pacers fishined the year with a 34-38 record and now must win on Tuesday to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The Indiana Pacers are slim three-point favorites over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Charlotte Must Score
The Charlotte Hornets are playing without forward Gordon Hayward, and his absence has really hurt the offensive attack. Charlotte is averaging just 109.5 points per game this season, and they are going to have to score better than that to advance.
Rookie LaMelo Ball leads this team with 6.1 assists per game, but he is also going to have to look for scoring opportunities. Terry Rozier has a team-high 20.4 points per game, and he has proven that he can score in the playoffs.
The Hornets have faced a difficult schedule to end the year, and that could prepare them for this matchup with the Pacers.
Pacers Not Getting Stops
Indiana is a team that is playing without much chemistry, and that has really affected their defense for much of the season. The Pacers are giving up more than 113 points per game, and they need a much better effort on Tuesday night if they want to advance.
All-Star Damontas Sabonis leads the team with 6.7 assists per game while also scoring more than 20 points per night. The addition of Caris LeVert has turned the Pacers into a top-10 offensive team, but Indiana can’t just simply outscore every opponent.
The Pacers will have to get some defensive stops at home if they advance in this tournament.
Hornets Keep Season Alive
Charlotte might not be coming into this game with a ton of momentum, but this is a young squad with plenty to prove. The Hornets have struggled to score, but they are playing a bad defensive team on Tuesday.
Indiana wants to speed this game up, but they are always in danger of a bad shooting night. Look for the Hornets to keep pressure on the Pacers in this matchup, and eventually, the young Hornets team will make the clutch plays late.
The Pacers do have the advantage of playing at home, but it won’t help them win on Tuesday night as their season comes to an end. Bet the Charlotte Hornets money line over the Indiana Pacers as they move on in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Player Prop
Miles Bridges (-103) Over 19.5 Points
Safe to say the Hornets might not even be in tonight’s game if not for the play of Bridges down the stretch.
After two lackluster NBA seasons, the former Michigan State star turned a corner this season, especially following the injury to Gordon Hayward. In the month of April, Bridges averaged 19.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 2.7 apg while shooting 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from beyond the arc.
He missed six games at the beginning of May while in health and safety protocol, but showed no ill-effects as he scored 30 points against the Knicks in his first game back on May 15. His stamina looked good too as he connected on 12-of-21 from the field while playing 34 minutes.
In a do-or-die situation, the Hornets will certainly be looking for a heavy contribution from Bridges tonight and we will take him (-103) to go over 19.5 points against the Pacers.
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