Cleveland Cavaliers vs Charlotte Hornets Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 25/03/2024, 00:50  by Joseph King | Modified on 25/03/2024 at 01:58 in NBA Predictions

The Cleveland Cavaliers will attempt to bounce back when they host the struggling Charlotte Hornets on Monday. The Cavs currently sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 43-28 record while the Hornets find themselves way down in 13th-place with a record of 17-53 on the season.

Cleveland suffered a heavy 121-84 away loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday and will have to deal with playing on back-to-back nights in this one. It was the third loss in the row for the Cavaliers as the team is in a real rut at the moment with only two victories from their last eight games. A large part of their struggles can be attributed to the absence of Donovan Mitchell who has played in only two of the Cavs’ last 12 games. Mitchell’s 27.4 points per game average and his instant offense have been a huge miss as the team struggles to put up consistent points. Cleveland is averaging only 93.0 points per game in their last three outings, the lowest mark in the NBA during that stretch. The hosts' lead over the fourth-placed Knicks has now shrunk to only half a game.

The Hornets’ ice-cold run continues as their losing streak reaches four games following a massive 132-91 blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the 41-point margin of defeat wasn’t even Charlotte’s biggest loss of the 2023/24 season as they lost by 53 points to the 76ers back in December. The loss to Atlanta also marked the fourth straight game that the Hornets have been held to under 100 points, something that is almost unheard of in the modern NBA. They won’t get any favors from Cleveland either as their opponents rank fourth in adjusted defensive rating (111.6).