Charlotte Hornets @ LA Lakers Tips - Lakers to out-sting Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets take on the LA Lakers in a cross-conference NBA regular season game on Thursday, March 18 (Friday morning in the UK). Charlotte are second in the Easton Conference Southeast Division where they trail the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Lakers are second in the Western Conference Pacific Division, behind the Phoenix Suns.

This will be the first time these two teams have played each other since October 2019, and on that occasion the LA Lakers were the convincing winners 120-101. I’m backing the Lakers to win Thursday’s encounter by a similarly wide scoreline of at least ten points, in a match that will have a points total in excess of 230. 

The Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers have played each other a total of 59 times, with the Lakers ahead 36-23. Because these two teams play in different conferences, they don’t meet each other that often. In fact, over the past three seasons they have played each other just five times, with the Lakers leading 4-1. In their most recent encounter in October 2019, the Lakers were victorious 120-101.

The Charlotte Hornets are currently fifth in the NBA Eastern Conference, with 20 wins and 18 defeats for a 0.526 percentage win percentage. Charlotte go in to Thursday’s game against the Lakers in excellent form; they are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and enjoying a four-match winning streak. Last time out on March 16, the Hornets defeated the Sacramento Kings 122-116. 

A key player this season for Charlotte has been Gordon Hayward, who has been their leading points’ scorer, averaging 21.1 PPG, also scoring high for rebounds and assists. Also crucial for the Hornets has been PJ Washington and rookie LaMelo Ball, who has created a little controversy this week by stating that he is “not really excited” about facing Lakers legend LeBron James for the first time. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are currently third in the NBA Western Conference, with 27 wins and 13 defeats for a 0.675 win percentage. After an excellent start to the season, the defending NBA champions have struggled with their consistency since mid-February, but they are currently on a three-match winning streak. In their most recent match the Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 137-121, with LeBron James having an outstanding game, scoring 25 points, 12 high rebounds, and 12 assists.

Much has been made about the erratic form of Lakers superstar LeBron James this season. While James has at times been almost average in the court, he has also had spells were he has shown the world just why he is one of the greatest players ever to grace the game of basketball. Statistically, James is still head and shoulders above the rest of the Lakers team, and he is their leading points’ scorer (25.5 PPG), and also leads for rebounds (8.1), assists (8.0) and steals.