We’ve got another exciting Eastern Conference contest on Friday’s NBA schedule as the Charlotte Hornets will visit the Toronto Raptors. Toronto is 26-47 overall and 16-21 at home, while Charlotte is 18-54 overall and 7-28 on the road. The Hornets won the lone matchup earlier this season, which ended a three-game win streak for the Raptors in the head-to-head series. Toronto is 43-28-2 against the spread (ATS) in the 2024-25 NBA season, while Charlotte is 34-36-2 ATS. LaMelo Ball (ankle) is out for Charlotte.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Raptors are 5.5-point favorites in the latest Hornets vs. Raptors odds, according to the SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 215.5 points. Before entering any Raptors vs. Hornets picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 23 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 153-113 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 19-10 (65%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Toronto vs. Charlotte. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for Hornets vs. Raptors:
- Raptors vs. Hornets spread: Raptors -5.5
- Raptors vs. Hornets over/under: 215.5 points
- Raptors vs. Hornets money line: Raptors -216, Hornets +180
- CHO: The Hornets are 1-5 against the spread over their last six games
- TOR: The Under is 5-1 for Toronto over its last six games
- Raptors vs. Hornets picks: See picks at SportsLine
- Raptors vs. Hornets streaming: FuboTV (try for free)
Why the Hornets can cover
Toronto is resting its leading scorer, RJ Barrett, in addition to Ochai Agbaji, while Gradey Dick (knee) is injured. That’s three double-digit scorers that Charlotte won’t have to face, and without them, the Raptors have just three active players averaging over 10 points per game. The Raptors’ offense already struggles as is, ranking 24th or worse in points per game, offensive rating, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage.
On the other end of the court, Charlotte has already shown it can put lots of points on the board as it hung 138 on Toronto in their first matchup this season. That’s the second-most the Hornets have scored all year and the third-most the Raptors have allowed. The Hornets should be able to get free points from the line, as no team send its opponents to the charity stripe more often than Toronto, and that plays into one of Charlotte’s strengths. It is knocking down a blistering 87.1% of its free throws over the last 10 games, which would be the highest percentage in NBA history over a full season. See which team to pick here.
Why the Raptors can cover
Despite season-long struggles that have Toronto just outside the NBA play-in picture, the Raptors have been as good versus the spread as just about anyone. They have the best ATS record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best in the NBA. They are also at their sweet spot regarding time off and having last played on Wednesday. Toronto is 30-12 ATS when it has one day off, compared to not even being above .500 ATS in any other rest interval.
With Charlotte playing more for draft positioning and lottery balls rather than playoff positioning, it is sitting the engine of its offense in Ball. He leads the NBA in usage percentage, so the Hornets essentially run an entire different offense without him on the court, and it’s not an improved offense. That’s evident in Charlotte’s record, which isn’t great when Ball plays at 16-31 but is historically bad when he doesn’t play at 2-23. See which team to pick here.
How to make Raptors vs. Hornets picks
The model has simulated Hornets vs. Raptors 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under, projecting 215 points, and it also says one side of the spread hits over 50% of the time. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Raptors vs. Hornets, and which side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Hornets vs. Raptors spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on a 153-113 roll on top-rated NBA picks since last season, and find out.
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