The Denver Nuggets and the Charlotte Hornets meet for the second and last time this regular season, Who gets to add another win to their record this Monday? Check out our preview below of this Nuggets-Hornets matchup.
Denver is going to the playoffs but the Nuggets are looking for some consistency. The Nuggets are just 2-3 straight up in their last five games, though they are coming off a 113-107 victory ovet he Oklahoma City Thunder. Beating the Thunder barely proves anything for the Nuggets, as Oklahoma City has long been out of playoff contention. Nevertheless, a win is still a good setup for Denver heading into a rematch against the Hornets, who beat the Nuggets back in December at Ball Arena, 115-107. Against the Thunder, Nikola Jokic flexed his MVP muscles and scored 35 points to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He could be unstoppable anew this Monday, considering that he had 20 points and 21 rebounds in the first meeting with Charlotte.
The Nuggets, who are averaging 111.8 points per game, are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 outings on the road.
The Hornets are likely to make the cut for at least a Play-in tournament inclusion, but why stop there when they can still make the top six in the East? That’s all the motivation Charlotte needs to show up with its a-game against the Nuggets. The Hornets have a high-flying offense powered by speedy youngsters in Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball, who are averaging 20.1 and 20.0 points per game this season. It’s going to take a collective effort for the Hornets to contain Jokic, but it primarily rests on the wide shoulders of Mason Plumlee, who scored just a point in a recent 107-101 home win over the Utah Jazz but pulled down 11 rebounds to go with four assists. In the same game, Bridges blew up for 26 points and 11 reboiunds, while Ball and Terry Rozier had 21 and 25 points, respectively for the Hornets, who are also one of the top 3-point shooting team in the league today. They knocked down 16 threes in the win over Denver in December.
The Hornets, who are coming off a 119-110 win over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday on the road, are 5-0 against the spread in their last five home games against Denver.
