Celtics vs Hornets Preview: Boston Have Won 17 of Last 26 Visits to Charlotte

• Thursday’s game will mark the return of Kemba Walker to Charlotte to face his former team for the first time.
• The Charlotte Hornets already have four wins even though their regular season win total was just 23.5.
• The Celtics are 5-1 overall and have won five of the last seven meetings between the teams.

The Boston Celtics will visit the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night in a reunion of sorts. Kemba Walker and Terry Rozier will face their former teams after both left in free agency. The Celtics have won 17 of the last 26 in Charlotte.

Can they cover the Celtics vs Hornets odds, which show them as a 7.5-point favorite, and win again?

Boston Celtics vs Charlotte Hornets Odds

Odds taken Nov. 7th

Hornets Have Surprised So Far

Taking a look at the Eastern Conference standings so far, you might be surprised to see the Charlotte Hornets are currently in sixth place with a record of 4-3. Although that’s not great, it is impressive given what their expectations were heading into the 2019-20 season.

The Hornets had one of the lowest regular season win totals on the board at 23.5, so with four wins, they’re almost 20% of the way there already. They’ve actually won three in row heading into Thursday’s game, but there are still some question marks over how good this team actually is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AfIEqLs_JA

The Hornets first win of the year was against the Chicago Bulls, which proceeded three blowout losses, then they beat the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and edged the Indiana Pacers at home in overtime. It might be a touch premature to say that this team has turned a corner – even if they’re 4-3.

Celtics Have Impressed

We weren’t sure what kind of team the Celtics would be heading into the 2019-20 campaign. Remember, the 2017-18 team overachieved and made a deeper-than-expected playoff run without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Then the stars came back last season and the team sagged.

So far this season, the results have been positive as the team enters Thursday’s game in the top spot in the East with a record of 5-1. They have both quality wins (Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks) and they’ve beaten up on bad teams too (New York Knicks twice, Cleveland Cavaliers).

Walker’s Return

The Hornets will be bracing for Walker’s return in this one after they opted to let him walk in free agency. He actually wanted to stay in Charlotte but their offer to re-sign the All-Star was low, so he signed a four-year, $141 million contract with the Celtics instead. Charlotte signed Terry Rozier in a sign-and-trade with Boston instead.

Walker leads the team with 26 points per game and he’s getting plenty of help from his cast – something that rarely happened in Charlotte. Gordon Hayward is coming off a stellar game where he had 39 points including a perfect 16-for-16 inside the arc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRDQyTZgGVs

Injuries could be a concern here as Nicolas Batum is out for Charlotte while P.J. Washington is probable. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown missed the team’s three most recent game with an illness while Daniel Theis, Robert Williams and Enes Kanter are all questionable.

What’s the Best Bet?

Charlotte has been decent but I’ll chalk most of that up to who they’ve played. This isn’t a very good team overall. Meanwhile, the Celtics are rolling and Walker is going to be looking to get some revenge and shine here. Lay the points here with Boston.