Game Time: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 

Venue:  Spectrum Center, Charlotte, Hornets

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Opening NBA Odds at USA Sportsbooks

DraftKings:  Spread:  Nets -4.5; O/U 241.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Nets -4 ; O/U 241

BetMGM:  Spread: Nets -4.5 ; O/U 241.5

Nets: 32-33, 9th place Eastern Conference

Hornets: 32-33, 8th place Eastern Conference

This is the real deal!  An NBA matchup of the #8 team versus the #9 team.  Both of these teams are wildly different than our expectation of them.  The Brooklyn Nets were supposed to be the greatest team ever assembled!  They aren’t… in fact that assemblage fell apart with one of the BIG THREE forcing his way out (specifically to get away from Kyrie Irving). We are going to learn a lot this game about how to build a team… Do you trade everything for a couple of stars… or do you wait and draft everything you need in time to pick up a few guys that other teams are dumping?.  The Brooklyn Nets just got Kevin Durant back from injury and still haven’t gotten Ben Simmons even though everyone else from his trade is playing.  Kyrie Irving can also play in this road game… unless he has a birthday party to attend.  The Charlotte Hornets were this season’s surprise because LaMelo Ball is fantastic… and Miles Bridges has figured out how to be in the NBA. PLus they have a couple of Celtics castoffs in SF Gordon Hayward (out with injury) and PG/SG Terry Rozier… they also picked up a few spare parts from around the league like PF/C Montrezl Harrell and SF/SG Kelly Oubre Jr.  They could not figure out how to dump C Mason Plumlee on anyone so they will always have a big missing piece in the middle.  This is really a matchup of who will actually play?... If Brooklyn can get KD and Kyrie on the court with C Andre Drummond and SG Seth Curry… we may see real Brooklyn basketball… If the Hornets can inspire PG LaMelo Ball and PF Miles Bridges to new heights… while figuring out that Montrezl Harrell needs to take Mason Plumlee’s spot in the starting line up we could see Carlonia’s best.  It’s all fun until you lose money.  Let’s change all that and figure out who will beat the spread.

The Brooklyn Nets have won only 3 of their last ten games.  They stink… but they are waiting for guys to return from the injury and tantrum list.  They went 5-5 ATS during that stretch.  They are on a terrible 4-game losing streak… a losing streak that featured the return of the greatest offensive player in the league… Kevin Durant.  It however didn’t feature the addition of Ben Simmons… and Kyrie Irving is on his own flat earth schedule.  Insiders are telling me that Ben Simmons may never have the head space to play again.  He gets nervous at practice at the thought that someone may be watching and reporting back…. He gets nervous around the former 76ers that joined his squad… thinking they might reveal how bad everything was in Philly… he gets nervous around anyone that might have an opinion.  Mental health is a really important thing to take care of… but when people thought Ben Simmons was sitting out to avoid the boos in the Philly game… they are wrong.  Sources say that he is simply too afraid to take the court again.  If any of the sources are right…. Philly won the trade everyday and twice on Sundays.   This team needs to get by at least for the rest of the year under the assumption that anything… even 12 minutes and 4 points from Ben Simmkons may be all they can get.  A psychiatrist will need to work with him for months before a chance at a healthy debut.  This is all I’m hearing so I make every prediction as if Ben Simmons does not want to play.

The Charlotte Hornets have only won 4 of their last 10 games.  They went 4-4-2 ATS during that stretch.  They have not been good,  They have been a poor betting opportunity.  The problem of course is that it is all over.  The team has hit a wall… They have no quality big man whatsoever… They have to hit an insane percentage of jump shots to get a win.  They were good for that before a couple injuries ruined the party.  As of now… they have nothing inside.  I don’t just mean size either… The Hornets just don’t have a big man that is capable of big man things. As a result they lose to Milwaukee and  Memphis and Chicago and Miami… and even sadly Detroit.  Leading scorer Miles Bridges (19.7 ppg) and team leader PG LaMelo Ball (7.3 apg) will need to take big steps up before this team is feared anywhere.  It’s not enough to write checks their play can’t cash… They have to actually find that next level.  An encouraging thing for this team is that they will draft in the middle of the pack this year… not the lottery.  They will finally know the joy of landing a big man and not having to pay him top tier money.  Hopefully they will also know the joy of trading that pick along with Mason Plumlee for a big man that can play now.

Al McMordie CASHED his NBA Game of the Week last night on the Miami Heat against Philly, and has another awesome NBA play on Sunday, as he looks to improve his red-hot 9-3 NBA run. Big Al's also 48-29 his last 77 overall, so get his NBA Non-Conference Game of the Week right now! Go get it!... Don’t miss out! Get Big Al’s picks!   You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Nets are 32-33 on the season, but 25-38-2 ATS.  They have logged 33 Overs, 31 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 19-15 in road games.

The Hornets are 32-33 on the season, but 35 Overs, 28 unders, and 1 Push.  They are 16-15 in home games.

The Nets are 12th in scoring with 110.8 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 12th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8. On defense they rank 20th while allowing 111.8 ppg from opponents.

The Hornets are 1st in scoring with 114.3 ppg, 11th in rebounds with 45.2 per game, 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 2.0. Defense is the problem.  The Hornets rank 28th while allowing 114.6 ppg from opponents.  The big part of the problem is that the best players are not good defenders.  PF Miles Bridges scores at a wonderful rate… but he gives up almost anything around the rim.  LaMelo Ball is in his second year and proving he belongs… he doesn’t prove he belongs quite as well as his brother Lonzo.  Defense is the commitment this team needs.

Our prediction for Tuesday, March 8th is…. Nets 123 - Hornets 117

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Charlotte is 14-5 ATS when playing their 2nd game in 5 days.
Brooklyn is 8-3 ATS when the line is +3 to -3 this season.
Brooklyn is 30 Over and 14 Under after having lost 4 or 5 of their last 6 games.
Brooklyn is 19-11 ATS versus Charlotte since 1996.

Nets: C LaMarcus Aldridge (hip) Out ** SG Joe harris (Ankle) Out ** SG Cam Thomas (back) Quest ** SG Ben Simmkons (wacky in the Wicky Woo) Out.

Hornets: SG Jame Bouknight (neck) Quest ** PF Jalen McDaniels (ankle) Out ** SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) Out

Nets: SF Bruce Brown, PF Kevin Durant, C Andre Drummond, SG Kyrie Irving, PG Seth Curry

Hornets: PF Miles Bridges, PF PJ Washington, C Mason Plumlee, PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier 

Nets

Points: Kevin Durant 29.5

Assists: James Harden 10.2 (gone)

Rebounds: Andre Drummond 8.9

Steals: James Harden 1.3 (gone)

Blocks: Nic Claxton 1.1

Hornets

Points: Miles Bridges 19.7

Assists: Lamelo Ball 7.3

Rebounds: Mason Plumlee 8.1 (sad)

Steals: Isaiah Thomas 2.0

Blocks: PJ WASHINGTON 0.9

Nets: Steve Nash

Hornets: James Borrego