Indiana Pacers vs. Charlotte Hornets Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 11/19/2021

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC

Where to watch: Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Southeast-Charlotte

DraftKings: Hornets -2

BetMGM: Hornets -1.5

Caesars: Hornets -2

Pacers: 6-10

Hornets: 9-7

Pacers: lost 97-89 at Pistons on Wednesday

Hornets: won four straight; won 97-87 vs Wizards on Wednesday

The Charlotte Hornets will try to push their win streak to five on Friday when they host the struggling Indiana Pacers at Spectrum Center.

The Hornets have been one of the pleasant surprises early on in the season. They hit a little bump after that 5-2 start by losing five straight on the West Coast road trip, but putting back four straight wins in the bank over the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors is cause for celebration.

Charlotte’s most recent victory was a 10-point win at home over the Washington Wizards, another strong team in the Eastern Conference. It was a balanced effort from the Hornets in that matchup with six players in double figures, led by 19 from Terry Rozier and 17 from Miles Bridges.

LaMelo Ball was held to only 11 points on 4 of 18 shooting but did have 14 assists, and Mason Plumlee also chipped in with a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds.

"After the first quarter, we locked it in on defense and that got us going," Bridges said after losing the first quarter 29-24. "As long as we stay focused, do what we need to do on defense, we have a great chance of winning every night."

It was going to take time to find the right mesh of players for coach James Borrego. Coming from the Gregg Popovich tree of coaching, it’s a system that gets opponents off balance with stingy defense and crisp ball movement on offense. Having the reigning Rookie of the Year in Ball running that offense the way that he does has been the difference maker. It’s also helped that Bridges has taken that next step in his development while Hayward has started to become that veteran that doesn’t need to score 20 a night for them to win.

That’s almost what the Pacers are hoping to get out of new coach Rick Carlisle as the season rolls on. The Pacers have lost three of five and haven’t found that right mode of consistency that they should have at the moment.

Indiana is loaded with talent, but the offense just isn’t there yet. The Pacers are coming off an 8-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night. Four players scored in double figures led by Malcolm Brogdon’s 20, but nobody else had that kind of a game that should’ve been a takeover-type of game.

"This is a tough loss, because (the Pistons) really dominated the play," Carlisle said. "They were clearly the aggressors from the start, and we didn't raise our game to match it. That's a recipe for losing in the NBA."

There’s honestly nothing better than two young teams with a ton of potential going at it. This is the first time the teams are meeting since the season opener back in October in which the Hornets won, but clearly the trajectory has changed a bit. I like the Hornets stylistically in this matchup; they’re athletic enough in the front court to slow down that talented duo Indiana has, and Ball is a matchup nightmare for Brogdon. Charlotte in a close one. Hornets by 5

The Pacers are 1-4 ATS this season when the line is between +3 and -3 on the road.

The under is 6-1 this season when the Pacers score 105 or less the previous game.

The Hornets are 5-2 ATS at home this season.

The over is 13-4 over the past three seasons when the Hornets play three straight home games.

PG: Malcolm Brogdon

SG: Justin Holiday
SF: Caris LeVert
PF: Domantas Sabonis
C: Myles Turner

PG: LaMelo Ball

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

Pacers: Chris Duarte (ankle, day-to-day)

Hornets: P.J. Washington (out)

Points: Domantas Sabonis -- 18.3

Rebounds: Domantas Sabonis -- 11.5

Assists: T.J. McConnell -- 5.3

Points: Miles Bridges -- 21.3

Rebounds: Mason Plumlee -- 7.8

Assists: LaMelo Ball -- 7.5