Charlotte Hornets vs. Washington Wizards: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/20/2022

Time: 6 p.m. ET

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to watch: NBCSWA, BSSE-CHA

DraftKings: Wizards -6

FanDuel: Wizards -6

BetMGM: Wizards -5.5

Caesars: Wizards -5.5

Hornets: 4-13

Wizards: 9-7

Hornets: lost 132-122 (2OT) at Cavaliers on Friday

Wizards: won 107-106 vs. Heat on Friday

Sometimes you go down a rabbit hole when you're looking at stats and numbers from certain players that you really haven't kept tab on for most of the season, and you realize that they are actually doing a much better job than you could have ever thought possible. That's exactly what I've been thinking about Kristaps Porzingis right now and the way that he's been able to kind of revitalize himself playing with Bradley Beal with the Washington Wizards.

And then you look at the Wizards record and you go wow, that's really impressive. And I know talking about a team with nine wins to only seven losses should be somewhat disheartening for a team that has two star players like that, but when you're talking about a team that has been trying to find its way up the playoff ladder for so many years, you find yourself in position thinking that these are the building block games that they need in order to get going for a bigger run down the road.

The Wizards are going to be playing the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday in Washington with Washington coming off a one point victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night in a game that the Wizards really didn't deserve to win. Washington played a depleted Miami team that did not have Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, or Duncan Robinson.

Washington played a team led by Kyle Lowry who literally had to do everything himself in a seven-man rotation. Lowry played 51 minutes and Miami still lost by just one point. Bill led all scorers with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, and Porzingis had 20 points and 17 rebounds while Kyle Kuzma also had 21 points to go along with eight rebounds.

“It’s a shame,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I really wished I could have told something better to my locker room because I’m really proud of that effort tonight. We just had a couple of miscues. … Some very good things happened tonight.”

But it is good to see porzingis thriving in this kind of role. Will it be sustainable? We're not really sure. Porzingis has had these instances going back to his days in Dallas where he would light the world on fire and score 30 points a game for six straight games, and then come back to earth in such a crushing way that it just didn't seem to be a reasonable thought. It'll be interesting to see how it works with the likes of Beale who now has a reason to stay in Washington for at least the short term given now that he has a running mate like the seven foot three Latvian big man.

But this will be one of those building block games when they take on Charlotte, who is coming off a 10 point double overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Charlotte just has four wins in 17 games and you can understand that given how much turmoil and ridiculousness there is to this roster right now. Miles bridges is dealing with legal issues, there are just injuries across the board especially to LaMelo Ball. Just nothing seems to be going right right now for Charlotte.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 34 points and Terry rozier had 28 for Charlotte without Ball, who missed the game due to a sprained ankle.

“It was pretty remarkable that we even got that game to overtime,” Charlotte’s Gordon Hayward said. "Certainly a roller-coaster of emotions. We got the stops we needed to and had a chance to win the game.”

Given the fact that the Hornets are still trying to find their way with a depleted lineup, I can't really trust them to win a game against Washington who is healthier and has more star power. Wizards by 13

Hornets are 21-10 ATS revenging a same-season loss over the last 2 seasons.

Hornets are 195-153 ATS after failing to cover in 2 straight games since 1996.

Wizards are 7-18 ATS off a home win the last 2 years.

Hornets are 7-17 ATS when playing 8 or more games in 14 days the last 2 years.

PG: Theo Maledon

SG: Terry Rozier

SF: Gordon Hayward

PF: P.J. Washington

C: Mason Plumlee

PG: Monte Morris

SG: Bradley Beal

SF: Deni Avdija

PF: Kyle Kuzma

C: Kristaps Porzingis

Hornets: Mark Williams (ankle, questionable), LaMelo Ball (ankle, out), Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle, questionable), Cody Martin (knee, out)

Wizards: Delon Wright (hamstring, out), Deni Avdija (dislocated finger, day-to-day)

Points: Kelly Oubre Jr. -- 19.2

Rebounds: Mason Plumlee -- 8.7

Assists: Dennis Smith Jr. -- 6.2

Points: Bradley Beal -- 22.4

Rebounds: Kristaps Porzingis -- 8.8

Assists: Monte Morris -- 5.0