NBA is Back: Lakers vs. Hornets February 19 Best Bets
After a predictably disappointing weekend of half-assed NBA All-Star weekend festivities, we can get back to the real thing now. The final stretch of the season will start off with the hapless Charlotte Hornets visiting the Los Angeles Lakers in a one-game showcase on Wednesday night. We’ve got you covered with our best bets and predictions on the spread, the total, and the player prop section.
2025 NBA Best Bets Record: 7-4 (+1.15)
Note: None of our best bets feature odds shorter than -200.
All odds provided by Betway.
LeBron James sat out the All-Star Game with foot and ankle injuries, but we doubt he misses this one. He’s had a full week off, and he really hasn’t sat for many games this year: he has played in 48 of a possible 52 games so far this year.
Doncic has also returned to the floor after an extended period on the shelf. He played about 23 minutes in L.A.’s final two games before the break, but he hasn’t found his groove yet. In Doncic’s two games the Lakers beat the Jazz then lost to the Jazz, so he’s not making a massive impact yet.
LaMelo Ball, James, and Doncic are all somewhat uncertain to play, but Ball is the most notable. He aggravated an ankle issue just before the All-Star Break. One full week of recovery could be enough, but if he doesn’t play, the Hornets can kiss a win goodbye: they are 1-17 straight up without Ball this year.
However, there is an interesting caveat here: when Ball doesn’t play, sports betting sites give the Hornets a silly amount of points. They are 9-3 ATS this season when Ball doesn’t play and they are
underdogs of 7+ points. Even if Ball does get in there, the Hornets have been reliable as underdogs of 10+ points either way, going 10-5 ATS overall in those situations this season.
The Hornets have lost 39 times, but they haven’t been really blown out very often. In fact, they have only lost by more than 15 points five times all year, only two of which have come in the last two months. Ball’s status remains up in the air, but either way, we like the Hornets to keep this one competitive.
The Lakers’ offense was on an absolute roll heading into the All-Star Break. In each of the seven games prior to the Break, L.A. scored 119+ points and six of those games went over the total. Five of those games in which they hit overs had totals set at 225+ points, while this one has been set down at 223 or so by more NBA betting sites.
However, the Lakers’ roll might not translate over to the post-All Star Break schedule, as they look to push forward on integrating Luka Doncic into the scheme, which could come with some growing pains. Not to mention that their opponent, the Hornets, have hit more unders than any other team in the league this year, with the under posting a 19-33 record in Hornets games.
They’ve scored under 110 in eight of their last 10 games, including three where they didn’t even reach 90 points. The under is 15-31 when the Hornets are underdogs this year, and in their last 11 games without LaMelo Ball, who is questionable for this one, they have averaged just 99.8 points.
The under is 8-3 in Charlotte’s last 11 games as a double-digit underdog, and with the way their offense has been performing in recent weeks, we’d expect another low-scoring contest here. We’re going to buy a couple of points up to 225, which makes us feel pretty safe: only three of their last 14 games have gone over 225 points.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding the status of both LeBron James and Luka Doncic, player props for all Los Angeles Lakers players remain off the board. And with Charlotte’s best player, LaMelo Ball, also sitting on the fence in terms of availability, there aren’t a ton of Hornets player props either. However, we still managed to find some worthwhile value.
Josh Green has been playing much better of late. Some of that has to do with Ball’s many absences, but even when Charlotte’s superstar is in, Green has been getting down to business. In the last full game in which both players participated, Green had 13 points, which nearly doubles his 7.5 point prop line for this game.
Green has scored in double digits in six of his last nine, and he’s averaged 10.6 points per game during that span. In his only other performance against the Lakers this year, Green also put in 15 points. We like the over here for the five-year veteran.
Alex is a recent graduate of Ryerson's Sport Media program in 2019 and has been contributing to BettingTop10 since 2020. He has worked in the field of sports and sports betting for several years, including writing for theScore and daily fantasy sports website FantasyPros as one of their lead NBA news writers. A dedicated sports fan and experienced sports bettor, Alex has the knowledge to provide you with the best betting advice and the sneakiest props no matter what the sport may be.
We’re just three weeks from the NBA playoffs, so the eight-game slate on March 24 should be a tasty one. Check out our three best bets across the Association on Monday, as well as the top NBA betting odds available!
There are 10 games in the NBA on Monday, March 17, so there’s lots of betting value to be found! Check out our best bets from across all the action, as well as the top NBA betting odds in Canada!
It’s a smaller five game slate on TNT Thursday in the NBA, but we’ve got you covered with our best bets and the top betting odds for March 13’s action!
