The Charlotte Hornets head to California for a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The pregame narrative: The Lakers are a strong home side so I’ll back them to win on Thursday. Prop picks on LeBron James and LaMelo Ball round out this +280 SGP.
Check out my Hornets vs. Lakers same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 9.
Hornets vs. Lakers predictions
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Parlay: Lakers ML + James over 23.5 points + Ball over 12.5 rebounds/assists (+280)
Lakers moneyline (-315): Los Angeles is a much better team at home than on the road.
- Home: 12-5
- Away: 8-11
The Lakers have won three of their last four at Crypto.com Arena, with the loss coming against the 32-4 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Anthony Davis is once again on the injury report but is listed as probable and should be suiting up. He’s often on the injury report but has only missed two games this season, so I’m not concerned.
Charlotte won its last game against the Phoenix Suns but lost 10 consecutive before that.
The Lakers are 8-point favourites, which I believe they can cover, but I’ll buy some insurance in this parlay and take them to win straight up against a struggling Hornets team.
SGP legs
James over 23.5 points (-159): In Year 22, James can still fill up the net. He’s averaging 23.8 points on 50.7% shooting.
On Wednesday, the King gets a soft matchup and I expect him to take advantage.
Charlotte allows the third-most points to power forwards (25.1/game), per Fantasy Pros.
LeBron can pass like a guard but don’t forget his ability as one of the best slashers the game has ever seen. According to 3stepsbasket.com, James is shooting 61% at the rim in his age-40 season.
The Hornets are tied for the 10th-worst paint defence, allowing opponents to shoot 62.8% from inside of six feet.
Additionally, LeBron is more efficient at home:
- Home: 24.5 PPG, 53.2 FG%
- Away: 23.3 PPG, 48.6 FG%
Ball over 12.5 rebounds/assists (-139): To start, Ball averages 12.7 rebounds/assists. That is right around the number needed here.
But he’s been even better at filling the stat sheet lately, averaging 14.5 RA in his past 10 games — and cashing this bet seven times.
This is also an intriguing matchup as the Lakers allow the sixth-most assists per game (9.7) to point guards.
And Ball has had success in this spot before. He’s averaged 15.4 RA in five career meetings with the Lakers.
Picks made at 8:48 a.m. ET 01/09/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.