Hornets vs. Spurs: 3 Best Bets

The San Antonio Spurs are well-rested and coming off a rare win after besting the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. They return home to face the Charlotte Hornets, who have lost three straight, and 14 of their last 15.

The Spurs, luckily, are mostly healthy. Zach Collins, Sidy Cissoko, and Charles Bassey are all out, but that pales in comparison to Charlotte’s injury report which features LaMelo Ball, Cody Martin, and Frank Ntilikina all questionable, PJ Washington as doubtful, and Gordan Hayward and Mark Williams are out.

Ball will be a game-time decision after missing 20 games. The Spurs will keep rolling with Tre Jones at point guard and hope to find the continued success he brings against a depleted (and downright bad) Hornets’ team. For only the third time this season, the Spurs are the favored team.

Keep it posted here for our three best bets, powered by SI Sportsbook.

The Lines

Point spread: Hornets +2.5 (-110)/Spurs -2.5 (-118)

Moneyline: Hornets (+120)/Spurs (-152)

Over/under: 236.5

Our Picks

Safe pick: Tre Jones OVER 12.5 points (-125)

In his three games as a starter, Jones has scored 18, 18, and 11. His shooting efficiency has been way up, and when he plays alongside Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama, he gets plenty of open looks. His offensive output against Detroit wasn’t great, but it didn’t need to be; as the Spurs won easily. Against a fun and frisky Charlotte team, expect him to do a little bit more, especially if Ball suits up.

Opponent pick: Brandon Miller UNDER 15.5 points (-125)

Miller is an excellent shooter, making 38 percent of his threes as a rookie, but he has been cold recently, making only five of his 20 threes over his last three games on the way to averaging only 9.3 points. Usually, shooters do quite well against the Spurs, but Miller has an uphill battle and the Spurs are firing on all cylinders, so this is unlikely to be a bounce-back game.

Hornets vs. Spurs GAMEDAY Preview: How to Watch, Betting Odds, Injury Report

Parlay pick: Spurs to win, Wembanyama OVER 17.5 points, Devin Vassell OVER 19.5 points, Jeremy Sochan OVER 2.5 assists, Wembanyama OVER 2.5 blocks (+550)

What’s this? A five-leg parlay? Yeah, we feel really good about the Spurs’ chances tonight. Not only are they simply a better team than the Hornets, but the Spurs are looking like they’re having fun playing. Sure, there was a slight outburst after the loss in Cleveland, but that was in the heat of the moment! Charlotte, or really anybody, doesn’t have an answer for Wemby, who is averaging 21.6 points over his last five games, along with three blocks. Vassell averaged 21 points over his last five but is shooting 48 percent from deep, so he won’t slow down tonight. Finally, Jeremy Sochan has been playing with his head up and has been kicking the ball out more, so not only is 2.5 assists well under his season average, it is also significantly under his last five-game average.