The Cleveland Cavaliers (24-20) and Charlotte Hornets (16-27) will face off in the NBA tonight. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will broadcast live on ESPN.
The Cavaliers are 2.5-point favorites over the Hornets on the spread (Cavaliers -2.5), with the over/under set at 237.5 total points. Cleveland is a -140 favorite to win outright on the moneyline, while Charlotte is +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Cavaliers vs. Hornets predictions and NBA picks for Wednesday, January 21.
Cavaliers vs Hornets Prediction
- Cavaliers vs Hornets pick: Kon Knueppel Over 20.5 Points + Assists (-112)
My Hornets vs Cavaliers best bet is on Kon Knueppel over 20.5 points + assists, with the best price currently available at bet365. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live NBA odds page.
Cavaliers vs Hornets Odds
| Cavaliers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 237.5 -110o / -110u | -140 |
| Hornets Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 237.5 -110o / -110u | +120 |
Cavaliers vs Hornets NBA Preview
I'm taking the Over 20.5 points and assists for Kon Knueppel.
I think there's a lot of potential buy-low spots on the Charlotte team just because they've been in a lot of blowouts as of late. Those are games in which these players haven't had the most minutes.
Knueppel, for example, has played 29 and 27 minutes in the last two games.
The Hornets obviously blew out the Nuggets, and they got blown out by the Warriors in their last two.
So, this is a fantastic spot for Knueppel, who obviously is going to be very trigger-happy from the three-point line.
This Cavaliers team allows the 6th-most threes per game and the most efficient three-point shooting to their opponents in terms of matchups so far this season.
So it's a great three-point spot for Knueppel. You can argue it's one of the best, if not the best, matchups for three-point shooters in this spot. We know he's going to chuck it from long range.
His volume has actually been a little bit low as of late over his last five games, only averaging right around 4.5 attempts from three per game. That could be because you finally have LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges all healthy.
Nonetheless, if you get a game where we're going to see six or seven attempts for Knueppel, he has all the ability to make four or five of them. So we have a high-efficiency spot for him here.
Cavaliers vs Hornets Prediction, Betting Analysis
I project Knueppel for 19 points, so he could easily clear the PA number on points alone.
I do think this number will move up a little bit in the market to 21.5, maybe even 22.5. However, I'm also adding a 3.6 assist projection for him.
While his assist prop (OU 3.5) has some pretty significant juice towards the over, there's some value on the assist prop as well.
In the end, I'm combining these two because I think Knueppel could easily get this done on points alone, but also has some value in the assist category as well.
So, give me the over on Kon Knueppel's 20.5 points and assists prop tonight.
Pick: Kon Knueppel Over 20.5 Points + Assists (-112, bet365)
