Charlotte Hornets vs. Boston Celtics Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/19/2022

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to watch: ESPN

DraftKings: Celtics -5

WynnBet: Celtics -5.5

Caesars: NL

Hornets: 24-20 (7th place, Eastern Conference)

Celtics: 23-22 (10th place, Eastern Conference)

The books appear to be sleeping on the Charlotte Hornets, and you should not be. They’re getting a comfortable amount of points at the Boston Celtics on Wednesday and you should take full advantage of that.

The Hornets have been one of the streaky teams in the league that you can’t really rely on, but then they go on a run of five wins in six games -- two of them against the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks at home -- and suddenly things feel right.

Charlotte has also shown to win in a myriad of ways. There are instances of putting up 140 points against the Detroit Pistons, and then holding the New York Knicks to 87 in Madison Square Garden like they did on Monday in a 10-point victory.

That win for the Hornets put them four games above .500, but it was also the coming-out party needed for Miles Bridges after pouring a career-high 38 points to go with 12 rebounds. Terry Rozier added 22 points, combining for nearly two-thirds of Charlotte’s entire production that night.

"He was awesome tonight. High-level performance. His confidence, the spirit he played with, led us to this victory," Charlotte coach James Borrego said after Bridges had 28 points in the first half. "I thought Terry controlled the game as well. Miles and Terry together controlled that game, but Miles was fantastic."

The Hornets are an impressive 5-1 against the spread in their last six with them being underdogs on three occasions. But their work as an underdog against the spread has been remarkable; the Hornets are 20-13 this season against the spread while getting points, but just 11-11 ATS as a road dog.

This is the first time since Oct. 25 the Hornets and Celtics have played. Boston won 140-129 in that epic overtime game that Jayson Tatum scored 41 points and Jaylen Brown added 30 points and nine rebounds … and one emphatic dunk over Bridges that still might be the dunk of the year.

Charlotte is 8-1 ATS this season when getting revenge on an opponent from an earlier-season loss.

The Celtics appear to have gotten back on track by winning five of six and coming off a 12-point win over the New Orleans Pelicans at home. Tatum had 27 points and eight rebounds and the Celtics had to rally after trailing by 18 in the first half.

"It looked like we woke up at halftime a little bit," Boston coach Ime Udoka said. "Overall, the offense really woke up, playing with the pace we wanted to and taking care of the ball."

The wins may be coming, but the Celtics are still 7-11 ATS as a home favorite while just 11-12 ATS at home this season. But Boston’s defense has shown to carry at times; the Celtics are 5-3 ATS after allowing 95 points or less. But I look at Charlotte, how they look defensively and how well they played despite LaMelo Ball dealing with a  non-COVID illness and feel more better at how they’ll handle this game on the road. Even if the Celtics edge it out in the end, take the Hornets with the points for as long as it’s high like that. Hornets by 2

The Hornets are 6-0 ATS in their last six Wednesday games.

The under is 5-1 in the Hornets' last six road games.

The over is 4-0 in the Celtics' last four against a team with a winning record.

The Celtics are 0-4 ATS in their last four following an ATS win.

PG: LaMelo Ball

SG: Terry Rozier
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Miles Bridges
C: Mason Plumlee

PG: Payton Pritchard

SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Robert Williams III

Hornets: Kelly Oubre Jr. (COVID, questionable)

Celtics: Marcus Smart (COVID, questionable)