The Hornets (6-11) host the second of five straight home games tonight, this time against the division rival Miami Heat (7-8).

Charlotte is looking to take a two-game losing streak heading into the matchup. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller have been on fire lately, but the team has been decimated by injuries to several starters and rotation players.

Help could be on the way soon as Mark Williams and Nick Richards are assigned to the Greensboro Swarm for their rehab assignments, but until then the frontcourt will look thin.

On the other hand, the Heat are looking to get back to .500 after losing to the Bucks in a close matchup in Miami last night. Even though Miami has a record-breaking record of 46-36 last season, Miami’s current sixth seed in the Eastern Conference is actually higher than the eighth place they finished last season.

Here are my tips for today’s game. Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Star Ratings:

1 Star – Not very confident

2 stars – A little confident

3 stars – Pretty confident

4 stars – Very confident

5 stars – Should be a lock

Spread: Heat -3.5

4-star play for the Heat (-3.5): For Monday’s game against the Magic, this article states that it would be irresponsible to pick the Hornets as a 6-point underdog while missing Miles Bridges, Tre Mann, Mark Williams, Nick Richards, DaQuan Jeffries and Grant Williams.

The Heat aren’t quite as solid as the Magic right now and are at a disadvantage after how they played last night, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Hornets’ rotation is currently being decimated by injuries.

Choosing the Hornets this time wouldn’t be irresponsible, but that doesn’t mean it would be a recommended choice here.

Over/Under: 218.5

3 star game on the bottom: Asking LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller to get this squad to their 108 implied points tonight against a team that sits just outside the top-10 in the NBA in defensive rating seems like a tall order. Add in the fact that Miami is one of the league’s slower teams playing for the second night in a row, and that Charlotte just scored 84 points against Orlando, and the minors are feeling pretty good here.

My selection for this season:

ATS: 9-3 (75.0%)

O/U: 6-6 (50.0%)

Overall: 15-9 (62.5%)

Odds Disclaimer

The game odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.

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