Sacramento Kings vs Charlotte Hornets Predictions, Odds & Player Props

• Coming off a win in Detroit last night, the Sacramento Kings continue their five-game road trip against the Charlotte Hornets
• Charlotte’s only win in the last 14 games came in Sacramento
• See the Kings vs Hornets odds, player props, and predictions for Wednesday’s game in Charlotte

The mercurial Sacramento Kings (22-14, 9-7 away, 19-17 ATS) will be out for a dose of vengeance on Wednesday night when they visit the Charlotte Hornets (8-26, 4-12 home, 14-20 ATS) just 24 hours after knocking off the Pistons in Detroit to commence a five-game road trip.

The Kings gifted the Hornets their only win in the past 14 games last Tuesday when Charlotte left Sacramento with a shocking 111-104 win as 15.5-point road underdogs.

Oddsmakers see the Kings avenging that loss on Wednesday, setting Sacramento as 8.5-point road favorites at the Spectrum Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.

Sacramento Kings vs Charlotte Hornets Odds

Sacramento is also a -300 moneyline favorite to win straight-up while the Hornets come back as a +250 home underdog in Wednesday’s NBA odds. The game total is sitting at 231.5.

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The Kings come into the game fully healthy. The Hornets will once again be missing LaMelo Ball in Wednesday’s NBA lineups. Their star point guard hasn’t played since Nov. 26. The Hornets are 4-10 with Ball in the lineup and 4-16 without him.

Kings Start Slow Against Pistons

While the final score last night (131-110) suggests Sacramento cruised through its matchup with the Pistons, that far from true. The Kings trailed by as many as 18 in the first half before a 39-18 second quarter charted a trajectory that would ultimately see Sacramento cover the spread as double-digit favorites.

Domantas Sabonis had a monsterous triple-double with 37 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds, while Keegan Murray added 32 points and five assists, and leading scorer De’Aaron Fox had 26 and four.

The Kings’ up-and-down performance was list night was a microcosm of their season. The Kings own some of the most-impressive wins this year – including at 124-111 at Minnesota and 125-1110 at the LA Lakers – along with some of the most-puzzling losses. In addition to their loss to the Hornets last week, they dropped a game to the 10-26 Portland Trail Blazers.

There’s been far more good than bad, though, and the Kings currently occupy the #5 seed in the West portion of the NBA playoff bracket.  If the season ended today, they would face the LA Clippers in the first round.

Hornets Start New Losing Streak After Upsetting Kings

When Charlotte was able to pull of their 15.5-point upset of the Kings, it stemmed an 11-game losing streak. The good vibrations didn’t last long, though; the Hornets dropped both ends of a home-and-home with the sub-.500 Chicago Bulls, most-recently losing 119-112 in OT at home on Monday.

Leading scorer Terry Rozier (24.3 PPG, 7.2 APG) was exceptional in the loss, dropping a team-high 39 points with eight assists on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 performance from the stripe.

Rebounding was the main issue for the undersized Hornets. Chicago out-rebounded Charlotte 51-44 and used those extra possessions to overcome Charlotte’s massive edge from beyond the arc. The Hornets were 17-of-42 (40.5%) from three while the Bulls were just 9-of-26 (34.6%).

The deficit on the glass was nothing new for the Hornets, who sit fifth-last in the NBA in rebound percentage (48.2%) and second-last in Defensive Rating (120.6), only ahead of the league-worst Washington Wizards (121.9).

SAC vs CHA Player Props

Player props from the DraftKings Sportsbook app.  

Fox (27.5) has the highest over/under point total tonight, closely followed by a pair of Hornets: Rozier (26.5) and Bridges (24.5). The highest rebound total belongs to Sabonis who, at 13.5, is nearly double any other player on the board.

Kings vs Hornets Prediction

Like the Pistons team that Sacramento faced last night, Charlotte has been in the habit of starting strong and fading down the stretch. The Hornets have led after the first quarter in four of their last seven, despite winning just one of those games.

The Kings, meanwhile, are developing a habit of slow starts. They’ve trailed after the first 12 minutes in four of their past five and five of seven, despite going 5-2 straight-up in that span.

On the tail-end of a back-to-back – and with their three top scorers all logging at least 33 minutes yesterday – this is a tough context for the Kings to start fast.

Sacramento vs Charlotte pick: Hornets first-quarter moneyline (+140)

Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:

• 10-8-2 ATS (+1.41 units)
• 10-11 ML (-1.17 units)
• 5-11 player props (-6.60 units)
• 0-1 same-game parlay (-2.00 units)

All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.