The Charlotte Hornets will play their first game of the 2021-22 regular season at Spectrum Arena. They will host their Eastern Conference neighbors from Indianapolis. The match will begin at 00:00 UK time.
Possible line-ups for the match:
Charlotte Hornets:
G – LaMelo Ball, G – Gordon Hayward, F – Miles Bridges, F – PJ Washington, C – Mason Plumlee.
Indiana Pacers:
G – Malcolm Brogdon; G – Chris Duarte; F – Torrey Craig; F – Domantas Sabonis; C – Myles Turner.
Charlotte Hornets:
The Hornets retained their squad for this season. What’s more, they strengthened their squad with Kelly Oubre. Perhaps the former Golden State player will finally be able to play at the Spectrum Center.
Despite all that, Charlotte didn’t look their best in preseason games. They lost three of four games. Only Oklahoma State (113-97) managed to lose them. After that the Hornets’ performance dropped. In their last game against Dallas, Borrego’s team failed to score even 60 points.
Indiana Pacers:
In the offseason, Indiana strengthened its squad with Brad Wanamaker. He played for Charlotte last season and averaged 6.9 points per game. Of course, with those numbers, Brad won’t be a contender for the starting lineup. But he’d be a solid addition to the bench.
The Pacers looked pretty good in the preseason. Rick Carlyle’s team beat Cleveland (109-100) and Memphis (109-107). But in the last game, the Pacers lost to the Cavs (94-110).
Charlotte Hornets vs Indiana Pacers statistics:
“Charlotte and Indiana finished last season in the top 5 in assists with 26.8 and 27.4, respectively. You can take a total over on assists.
In six of the last ten home games between the Hornets and Pacers, the teams played with a low total.
Charlotte Hornets vs Indiana Pacers Tips:
The Hornets did not impress in their preseason games. First of all, they played poorly on the offensive. We already mentioned the 59 points against Dallas. Against Memphis, Borrego’s team also scored only 98 points.
Indiana looked much more interesting with Sabonis. The Pacers got an experienced coach – Rick Carlyle. We think the Pacers are better prepared for the game. They have a better chance to win.
Our prediction is a Pacers’ win with the odds of 2.06 with the VBet bookmaker.
Charlotte has not been impressive so far on the attack. It is possible that they will not be able to play effectively in this game.
Our second prediction is a total of points under 226.5 with the odds of 1.71 with the VBet bookmaker.