Hornets vs Warriors Picks and Predictions: Hornets Offense Should Do Just Enough

The Charlotte Hornets have lost three of their last five games and will now try to get back on track in a road contest with Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. Even with Klay Thompson out for the first half of the season, head coach Steve Kerr’s team has looked like a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. 

Will Charlotte find a way to cover in this game? Tonight’s betting odds have Golden State favored by 6.5 points. We’ll dive into that in our Hornets vs. Warriors picks and predictions below. 

Hornets vs Warriors odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

Both of these teams have gotten off to good starts this season, but the Warriors are the ones that opened as 6-point favorites here. Now, Golden State is a 6.5-point favorite on some books, and the Warriors are getting nearly three-quarters of the tickets. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Hornets vs Warriors predictions

• Prediction: Hornets +6.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 226 (-110)
• Best bet: Miles Bridges Under 19.5 points (-106)

Predictions made on 11/03/2021 at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Hornets vs Warriors game info

• Location: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
• Date: Wednesday, November 3, 2021
• Tip-off: 10:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN, BSSE

Hornets vs Warriors betting preview

Injuries

Hornets: No injuries to report.
Warriors: Damion Lee G (Probable), James Wiseman C (Out), Klay Thompson G (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Hornets are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games. Find more NBA betting trends for Hornets vs. Warriors.

Hornets vs Warriors picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

Golden State is currently near the top of the Western Conference standings, as the team is just a half of a game behind the Utah Jazz for first. However, Charlotte is also off to a great start to the year, as the Hornets are 5-3 and have to feel like they’re heading to the playoffs this season. And despite that, the oddsmakers are giving Charlotte a good number of points in this game, and bettors are all over Golden State as a home favorite. 

The Warriors currently have the second-best defensive rating in basketball, but the Hornets have the third-best offensive rating. In the NBA, a great offense generally tends to get the better of a great defense, and it helps that the Hornets don’t even have to win this game outright. Charlotte just needs to hang around and weather some three-point flurries from Curry here. It doesn’t hurt that the Hornets have LaMelo Ball, who is similarly likely to have stretches of brilliance on the offensive end. 

The X-factor in this game could ultimately be Gordon Hayward. The 31-year-old has scored a total of only 18 points over his last two games, and he’s bound to turn it on offensively here. On the season, Hayward is shooting 49.0% from the floor and 47.5% from the outside. He’s still a tremendous offensive player, and he’ll enjoy having the national television spotlight tonight. 

Another thing that should stand out here is that the Hornets have the depth to give the Warriors trouble. When Ball and Curry go to the bench, the Hornets have the luxury of throwing Ish Smith on the floor. Smith has been superb for Charlotte all year and the Hornets’ second unit should win some minutes for Charlotte. Grab Charlotte and the points. 

Prediction: Hornets +6.5 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

The Under is 11-3 in Charlotte’s last 14 games as a road underdog and it’s also 7-2 in the team’s last nine games against teams with a winning percentage of 60 percent or higher. Meanwhile, each of Golden State’s last five games have gone Under the total, and the Warriors have also seen the Under hit in their last six games as favorites. 

While Charlotte should be able to score enough to keep this close against a very good Golden State defense, the Hornets aren’t going to be as efficient as they usually are. The Warriors are not an easy team to score against, so it’s going to be difficult for Charlotte to score enough to help Over bettors cash in a game with this high of a total. Golden State is just 17th in offensive rating this season, so it’s not like the Warriors are due for a huge performance on that end. Curry is an unbelievable player on his own, but Golden State is still missing Klay Thompson’s shooting. When he’s back, the Warriors offense will be truly unlocked. 

Prediction: Under 226 (-110)

Best bet

Miles Bridges has been unbelievable to start the year, but he does come into this game after having scored just 16.0 points per game over his last two contests. He was just 4 for 18 from the floor and 1 for 7 from deep against the Cleveland Cavaliers last game, which is hard to believe when factoring in that the Cavaliers were missing Isaac Okoro. Okoro is the team’s best defender on the wing, so it seemed like a good matchup for Bridges. 

Now, Bridges will have to face a Golden State team that features some legitimate stoppers on the perimeter. Bridges will likely be covered by Andrew Wiggins in this game, and Wiggins has become a legitimate two-way presence with the Warriors. Overall, this just isn’t an easy matchup for Bridges, and this game has a decent shot of going Under the total to begin with. With that said, don’t be shocked if some of Bridges’ shooting struggles from last game carry over here. 

Pick: Miles Bridges Under 19.5 points (-106)

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