by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Apr 02, 2022
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Where to watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, Bally Sports Southeast-Charlotte
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: 76ers -6
BetMGM: 76ers -5.5
Caesars: 76ers -5.5
Season record
Hornets: 40-37
76ers: 46-30
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Hornets - 76ers preview and analysis
Remember the old days when the Philadelphia 76ers made that trade for James Harden, looked like one of the best teams in basketball and had this idea of becoming NBA champions based on that major addition?
Man, how far we've come for things like this. The 76ers are still one of the favorites to get through the East and make it to the NBA Finals, but man it's becoming a much more difficult task to get through this when they've been losing as much as they have over the past few weeks.
The 76ers will try to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday when they host the Charlotte Hornets who are on their own little run that we'll get to in a moment because of how maddening it is for that group to be so inconsistent.
But speaking of inconsistencies, there is a lot to make of the 76ers having lost three straight, including losses to the Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. Clearly, one of these things do not belong here and now there's the matter of coach Doc Rivers signaling out James Harden for why they lost 102-94 in Detroit on Thursday.
Harden finished with 18 points on 4 of 15 shooting, which completely offset Joel Embiid's dominant 37 points and 15 rebounds. The presumptive MVP favorite among most circles was left on an island when Tyrese Maxey and James Harden combined to go 9 of 25 shooting. Sure, Tobias Harris went 6 of 9 and made a couple of threes, but why on earth is this group struggling to shoot the ball as is?
"I thought we played with very little life tonight," Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought we were pretty good for about the first eight minutes of the first quarter and after that we just stood around. That's something we've been doing too often lately."
The 76ers are somehow reeling fast, which makes no sense considering how dominant they looked upon acquiring Harden. I don't know if it's a lack of chemistry or it's just Harden isn't a fit, but they need to be so much better than this and there doesn't seem to be an immediate fix other than the fact Philly needs to make shots outside of Embiid. Nothing surprises me anymore.
"We stopped executing in the fourth quarter," said former Piston Tobias Harris, who finished with 14 points. "We weren't stopping them on defense and we had too many turnovers to change the momentum. They just kept making plays."
Ain't that the truth.
But meanwhile, things might be looking better for the 76ers on the homefront considering they're welcoming an inconsistent Charlotte Hornets team that has plenty of questions with very few games left in the regular season.
The Hornets have clinched a spot in the play-in tournament, but it just comes down to if Charlotte will host a game or have to travel. Right now, the Hornets and Brooklyn Nets are tied at 40-37 but Brooklyn owns the tiebreaker and the matchup with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving would be in Brooklyn, which is maddening for those dealing with mask mandates.
Charlotte has won three of four and is coming off a 125-114 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. Miles Bridges finished with a game-high 31 points on 11 of 15 shooting, and LaMelo Ball had 20 points and 15 assists.
"This is not where we ultimately want to end up. I'm proud of this group," Hornets coach James Borrego said. "For us to clinch a play-in spot, to be at 40 wins right now … to be in this position speaks volumes to their commitment, their growth, their togetherness, their fight, resiliency."
The Hornets have been a weird team that's been unable to find some consistency in terms of streaks. One week could be a 5-game winning streak, the next could be a 6-game losing streak with no immediate answer. It's been frustrating to want to buy in to the Hornets this season but I can't bring myself to do it.
Prediction
If there was a time for the Hornets to want to get back on track and figure out what's going on with that group. At some point before the playoffs, Philly is going to need to figure it out at some point and this could be the perfect game to get through it. 76ers by 10
Betting trends
The Hornets are 13-6 ATS the past three seasons when playing on two days rest.
The under is 27-12 when the Hornets have won three of their last four games.
The 76ers are 22-26 ATS this season as a favorite.
The 76ers are 58-50 ATS in home games over the past three seasons.
Projected starting lineup
Hornets:
PG: LaMelo Ball
SG: Terry Rozier
SF: Kelly Oubre Jr.
PF: Miles Bridges
C: Mason Plumlee
76ers:
PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: James Harden
SF: Matisse Thybulle
PF: Tobias Harris
C: Joel Embiid
Key injuries
Hornets: Gordon Hayward (ankle, out)
76ers: None
Statistical leaders
Hornets:
Points: Miles Bridges -- 20.3
Rebounds: Mason Plumlee -- 7.9
Assists: LaMelo Ball -- 7.5
76ers:
Points: Joel Embiid -- 30.0
Rebounds: Joel Embiid -- 11.5
Assists: James Harden -- 10.0
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
