Charlotte Hornets at Oklahoma City Thunder

By Sam Batz 

The Charlotte Hornets hit the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, March 28th (8:00 PM EST, Bally Sports/NBA League Pass). The Hornets are having another down season and are missing the playoffs for the 7th consecutive season. The Thunder are having an unexpectedly decent season, as they were not expected to make the playoffs, yet they still have a shot with just 7 games remaining on their schedule. Shockingly, Charlotte leads the series over OKC after the Hornets took the Thunder down 121-112 back in December. Regardless, Charlotte is a 9-point underdog forTuesday’s matchup and the Thunder are expected to win. 

Charlotte Hornets Breakdown

The Hornets are eliminated from playoff contention and are scraping the bottom of the barrel at 25-51 (32.9%). Charlotte is 14th in the East and are essentially giving up on the season. They are 5-5 in their last 10, and are coming off back-to-back wins over the Dallas Mavericks, but the Hornet’s averaged just 106.8 points per game over that 10 game stretch. Charlotte has the worst-ranked offense in the league and they lose over 75% of the time as underdogs on the road. At this point, the Hornets can pack it up and try again next year. 

Oklahoma City Thunder Breakdown

OKC is fighting to stay in the top-10 of the Western Conference, which won’t guarantee them a playoff position, but will see them through to the play-in tournament. The Thunder are 37-38 (49.3%), 10th in the West, and 1.5 games out of the top-six. OKC can’t afford to drop games against opponents like the Charlotte Hornets but need to take them seriously if the Thunder want to avoid postseason elimination. OKC averaged 110.4 points per game and went 6-4 in their last 10. They should beat Charlotte on Tuesday, but a matchup against a team with nothing to lose can be dangerous. 

Hornets vs. Thunder Odds

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Hornets vs. Thunder: Season Stats

Hornets vs. Thunder: Betting Trends

Hornets vs. Thunder: Game Changers

Charlotte Hornets

• PJ Washington is playing well and scored a combined 49 points over his last 2 games (24.5 per game) along with a double-double on Sunday
• Gordon Hayward is averaging 14.7 points per game but in his last 3, he averaged 19.7 points per game
• Charlotte is 5-8 this month and recorded less than 100 points in 4 of those games

OKC Thunder

• 20-year old Josh Giddey leads the Thunder with 7.9 rebound per game and has played the most games (70) for OKC
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is essentially the entire OKC offense. SGA leads the team with 31.3 points, 5.4 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game
• The Thunder are much better at home, winning nearly 60% of their games in OKC

Hornets vs. Thunder Prediction

Take the OKC Thunder to win the game. The Hornets are terrible, and without LaMelo Ball facilitating the offense, Charlotte can’t seem to get it together. They are incredibly inconsistent on offense, and the Thunder are a top-10 ranked defense who should handle the Hornets without getting stung. OKC still has a lot to play for and if they keep winning, their season won’t end after the last game on the schedule. The Thunder will win on Tuesday and improve to an even .500 on the season. 

Prediction: OKC Thunder Moneyline (-440) and the Under  

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