Toronto Raptors vs. Charlotte Hornets Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 18th 2023

The host Toronto Raptors will be out to avenge a loss to the Charlotte Hornets earlier this month when the teams convene for a rematch Monday night.

Toronto’s Scottie Barnes had a triple-double at Charlotte with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but the Hornets prevailed 119-116 with Gordon Hayward scoring 24 points.

But the Hornets have now dropped four in a row after they were humbled 135-82 at home to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

The Raptors have dropped five of six after their 125-104 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday. The Raptors split a pair against the Hawks to open a four-game homestand.

Charlotte’s loss by a 53-point margin Saturday night was the worst in franchise history.

The Hornets were without several players against the 76ers. Hayward (illness) did not play and Terry Rozier left the game during the third quarter and did not return after being struck on the nose.

“One thing about the NBA, you tell them the truth,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said after the game. “Look, we’ve got to get our guys back.

“It’s a brutal stretch. This stretch here – this week, the next two weeks – there’s no easy weeks in this league, but if you look at the upcoming schedule, it’s going to be hard, and we’re not sure when those guys will come back.”

Entering the game against Philadelphia, the Hornets also were without LaMelo Ball (ankle), Mark Williams (back) P.J. Washington and Cody Martin (knee).

“The overall story of the game would be more about the guys that didn’t play than did, I would say,” Clifford said. “But there’s always things you can learn from a game.”

Clifford said that the Hornets must try not to fall too far back until the injured players return.

“We’ve got to find a way to win enough so that when we get everybody at full strength and then a little time to kind of get a game together, that we’re not too far out,” Clifford said.

“And right now, we’re not. So much of your record, and this is every year, depends on how good the East is. And right now this year, the East is brutal. If you can get close to .500, I bet you that’ll be good enough to get in.”

The Raptors were outscored by 18 points from 3-point range in the loss to the Hawks. The Raptors hit only 14 of 25 free-throw attempts. The Hawks also had a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Raptors shot 51.9 percent from the field despite going 10-for-31 on 3-point attempts. Barnes led the Raptors with 23 points, four rebounds and eight assists, but was 4-for-8 from on free throws. Pascal Siakam scored 33 points against the Hawks on Wednesday but had only 15 Friday.

“You know what? They got 16 offensive rebounds for 24 second-chance points,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It’s hard to have any pace when they have so many opportunities there. We got to the free-throw line, quite a bit, 25 times to the free-throw line. We missed 11 free throws tonight.

“So it’s hard to play that way, to create that pace on the offensive end. To play with pace, you’ve got to get stops and you’ve got to get rebounds, and we did not do a good enough job with that.”

– Field Level Media