Raptors vs Hornets Picks & Odds (April 2)
- The Raptors play the second game of a five game road trip against the Hornets on Sunday, April 2nd
- Desperate for a win to secure the 8th seed in the East, Toronto has lost five-straight on the road
- Check out the Raptors vs Hornets odds below, plus our best bet and prediction
On the heels of yet another road loss and some head scratching remarks from their head coach, Nick Nurse, the Toronto Raptors (38-39, 12-25 away) pay a visit to the Charlotte Hornets (26-52, 13-25 home) who have been playing the role of spoiler over the last month.
It’s a matinee affair between the Raptors and Hornets on Sunday, April 2nd. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm ET from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. This contest will be broadcast on Sportsnet in Canada and Bally Sports in the United States.
Below, we provide the Raptors vs Hornets odds as well as some analysis along with our best bet and pick for this game.
Raptors vs Hornets Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Raptors | -13 (-110) | -850 | OFF |
| Charlotte Hornets | +13 (-110) | +600 | OFF |
Over the last few weeks, the Hornets have scored some huge wins over teams fighting to get into the playoffs or jostling for position in the play-in tournament. This is the exact scenario the Raptors are facing. No matter, the Raptors are massive 13-point road favorites for this clash.
In the month of March, Toronto had just one victory on the road, finishing with a 1-6 mark as visitors. Paying out at odds of -850 on the moneyline, they have an implied win probability of 89.47% to get back in the win column in this clash.
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Odds as of April 1st at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Nick Nurse Sends Cryptic Message
On Friday night, the Raptors kicked off their five game road trip by falling 117-110 to the 76ers, but it’s what Nurse said in his pregame comments that was most noteworthy.
For some unexplainable reason, the Raptors man in charge decided that was a good time to talk about his future. The head coach said he’d have to evaluate where he’s at come the end of the season. Speculation has been running rampant that he’ll leave Toronto for Houston and his comments did nothing to squash those rumors.
“It’s been 10 years for me now which is a pretty good run…10 years is a good time to sit back and reflect a little bit” 👀 https://t.co/6Dr4k5GXAA pic.twitter.com/9TIxyYMWMG
— OG's Scarf (@OGsHeadband1) March 31, 2023
So where does that leave the Raptors? They are currently tied for 8th on the East side of the NBA playoff bracket, and avoiding finishing 9th or 10th would give them a big advantage in the play-in tournament.
However, now that his players will have had a couple days to digest their coach’s comments, it’ll be interesting to see how they react. Guys like Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby have been with Nurse for almost their entire careers. They could be a bit shaken as they head into the key final stretch of the regular season.
Hornets Embracing Role of Spoiler
You would think for the Raptors, they would revel in playing the lowly Hornets despite all the distractions created by Nurse. Think again. With nothing left to play for, Charlotte has actually been playing some of their best ball of the season.
They have won four of their last six and may have single-handedly destroyed the chances of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and the Mavericks even qualifying for the play-in tournament after defeating them in back-to-back games last week.
The Hornets are spoiling a ton of Western Conference playoffs hopes.
Beat Mavs back-to-back games, dropped them to No. 11 seed.
Beat OKC tonight, dropped them to 10 seed.“Put they a** in the dirt.” pic.twitter.com/1gaQk1LZzt
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) March 29, 2023
Only one team in the entire Association has fewer home wins than Charlotte this season. So that may be one factor why they’re such huge underdogs in the NBA odds against Toronto. Their recent play should probably earn them a bit more respect.
Raptors vs Hornets Prediction
Time flies in life as well as in sports. It seems like just yesterday when Nurse led the Raptors to the championship and was doing everything he could to keep them relevant in the NBA Championship odds after Kawhi Leonard’s departure.
The Raptors can’t afford to lose this game and the media will have a field day if they can’t score a victory over the lowly Hornets given all that’s been said over the last couple of days. A 13-point spread feels much too large though. You have to go back over two months to find the last time the Raps won a road game by that many points.
Given the Hornets inspired play of late and the Raptors porous performance on the road, take Charlotte to cover as the hosts in this one.
Pick: Charlotte Hornets +13 (-110)
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George has had a lifelong love affair with sports and studying sports statistics since he was a kid. He graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and has worked in the sports & media industry ever since in various roles from writer to producer.
