Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 27/01/2022, 21:04  by Joseph King | Modified on 28/01/2022 at 03:07 in NBA Predictions

The upstart Charlotte Hornets play host to the struggling Los Angeles Lakers for some NBA action in a battle of youth vs. experience. The Hornets have been having a very promising year and by all accounts this young team is ahead of schedule. They currently sit seventh in the East with a 27-22 record although only trailing leaders Miami by 4.5 games in a very tight conference. They should be full of confidence after just obliterating the Indiana Pacers 158-126, the highest point total of any team this season and also the new franchise record. The scoreline is a wonderful representation of the excitement that the Hornets have been garnering this year and this could be a case of extremely bad timing for the visiting Lakers. LA will be playing a back-to-back here after just losing 106-87 to Philadelphia the night before and this will also be their third game in four days. They might be without the transcendent LeBron James as he missed the Philadelphia game due to soreness in his knee and is currently listed as day-to-day. The Lakers have a record of 24-25 and are currently sitting ninth in the West, a half game behind Minnesota. 

This is a bad spot for the Lakers. With a crammed schedule and an old team suffering with some injuries, the Hornets are presented with a golden opportunity to record a big win over the famous franchise. Good news for LA is that Anthony Davis is back. The all-pro forward had an excellent game in the loss scoring 31 points in 34 minutes but there are definite concerns as to whether he will see a lot of the court in this game. The Lakers surely don’t want to give him too high of a workload in these first games back for fear of reinjuring the MCL that has kept him out a chunk of the season. LeBron’s teams historically don't fare well in his absence and to add to the problems facing LA, this Hornets team is exactly the archetype of opponent that they have struggled with this season. Charlotte is young, full of energy and explosive and it will be tough for the Lakers to stay in front of them.