Hornets vs. Trail Blazers Predictions, Odds, Preview

VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert

7 minute read

Mar. 1, 2021

by Jonathan Willis
NBA Expert
VegasInsider.com

The Portland Trail Blazers needed the weekend off to recuperate. Portland didn’t play on Saturday or Sunday, and that’s a good thing considering this team lost four games in a seven-day stretch last week.

That has the Blazers sitting at 18-14 with three games before the All-Star Game this coming weekend. They will start a three-game homestand prior to the break against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Hornets vs. Trail Blazers Betting Resources

Matchup: Non-Conference
Expert Picks: Vegas Insiders
Venue: Moda Center
Location: Portland, Oregon
Date: Monday, Mar. 1, 2021
Time: 10:35 p.m. ET
TV: NBA TV
Bet: BetMGM | betrivers |FanDuel |bet365 |DraftKings |Best Sportsbooks

Betting Odds - Hornets vs. Trail Blazers

Line Movements

Subject to Change

Spread: Trail Blazers -6
Money-Line: Portland -240, Charlotte +200
Total: 233

The Hornets travel to Portland with no rest on Monday night looking to knock off the Blazers. (AP)

Hornets vs. Trail Blazers Current Form-Last Game

Charlotte has alternated wins and losses for three weeks. The Hornets have been unable to get over the hump and back to .500, and they haven’t been dead even in the standings since mid-January. However, that will change if they can break out of this recent trend on Monday as the Hornets are 16-17.

The Hornets would be the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference if the season were to end today. There is a lot of volatility in the middle of the pack though as just 1.5 games separate the current No. 4 seed New York Knicks from the current No. 10 seed Chicago Bulls.

On Sunday night, Charlotte knocked off Sacramento 127-126 in a thriller. P.J. Washington exploded for 42 points on 15 of 23 shooting, and Malik Monk and LaMelo Ball both finished the night with over 20 points too.

Monk was the hero as he capped off the Hornets’ 39-point fourth quarter with a driving layup that drew contact and converted the free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining to give Charlotte the one-point win.

Teams that live and die by the three-pointer tend to be streaky. We’ve seen that from Portland over the last three weeks as the Blazers won six games in nine days in the middle of February, but that was followed by a four-game losing streak in the span of seven days immediately afterwards. The Blazers are looking to end their slide at home on Monday night.

Portland could only muster 93 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. The Blazers had a small lead at halftime, but they scored just 36 points in the second half in a 102-93 defeat. Damian Lillard had 35 points on 11 of 24 shooting, yet the rest of the team went 21-59 from the floor and 6-24 from beyond the arc.

Hornets vs. Trail Blazers Head-to-Head

Jan. 13, 2020 - Blazers 115 vs. Hornets 112, Charlotte +9, Over 215.5
Mar. 3, 2019 - Blazers 118 at Hornets 108, Portland -2.5, Over 224.5

(SU-Straight Up, ATS - Against the Spread, OU - Over-Under)

Charlotte Hornets Betting Outlook

Inside the Stats (2020-2021)

Overall: 16-17 SU, 18-14-1 ATS, 18-14-1 OU
Road: 7-9 SU, 9-7 ATS, 12-4 OU

Ball is currently the heavy favorite to be the 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year. Ball was the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but he has outperformed Anthony Edwards and James Wiseman. The youngest Ball sibling might be the best of the bunch, as he is averaging 15.3 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 6.3 APG as a rookie. His shooting percentages aren’t great, as he is knocking down 44.1 percent of his field goals and 35.3 percent of his threes, but that is an improvement from what we saw from Ball during his time with the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks.

Gordon Hayward has been solid in his first season with the Hornets. Hayward seemed to need a change of scenery after an injury plagued three years in Boston, and it has paid off. He leads Charlotte with 21.5 PPG, and he is sinking 42.1 percent of his threes thus far this season.

Charlotte’s second-best scorer is faring even better from downtown. Terry Rozier is averaging 20.2 PPG and sinking 44 percent of his threes. Rozier has struggled from beyond the arc over the last week though, going 5-21 from downtown over his last four games.

The X-Factor for the Hornets is Monk. The former University of Kentucky standout has only started one game in four seasons with Charlotte, but he is finally coming into his own with other talented players around him this season. Monk is posting career-highs across the board with 13.0 PPG on 46.2 percent shooting, and he is making 44 percent of his threes after making just 28.4 percent of his triples in 2019-20.

Portland Trail Blazers Betting Outlook

Inside the Stats (2020-2021)

Overall: 18-14 SU, 17-15 ATS, 17-15 OU
Home: 8-6 SU, 5-9 ATS, 7-7 OU

Lillard is the key to everything for the Blazers. It’s been Dame Time 24/7 in Portland over the last six weeks as the team has had to rely on him heavily without Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins, or C.J. McCollum. He will be making his fourth straight All-Star Game appearance this weekend in Atlanta.

Portland’s only All-Star is averaging 29.8 PPG, 8.0 APG, and 4.4 RPG. He is making 44.7 percent of his field goals and 37.9 percent of his threes, and Lillard does a great job of getting to, and converting from, the free throw line.

Gary Trent Jr. is providing as much help as he can without McCollum in the lineup. Trent is averaging 15.4 PPG and is making 41.6 percent of his three-point attempts. He doesn’t provide much else though, as his primary skill is being a great perimeter shooter.

The Blazers have one of the least reliable frontcourts in the league without Nurkic and Collins available. Portland is dead last in the league in points in the paint per game (37.2 PPG), and the Blazers are a full three points behind the next team in this category. Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony do what they can on the interior, and Robert Covington spends most of his time on the wing.

Key Injuries

Charlotte Hornets

SF Gordon Hayward: Hand - Questionable
C Cody Zeller: Hip - Questionable
PG Devonte' Graham: Knee - Out

Portland Trail Blazers

SG C.J. McCollum: Foot - Out
C Jusuf Nurkic: Wrist - Out