LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets have been red hot since the turn of the new year, and they hold the No. 2 net rating in the NBA over their last 15 games heading into Sunday\u2019s game against the Boston Celtics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the front end of a back-to-back for the C\u2019s, but they\u2019ll have Jayson Tatum in action despite losing several players on the injury report ahead of this game. Boston was blown out by Charlotte earlier this season, and it\u2019s set as an underdog on Sunday with Jaylen Brown out and Derrick White questionable.<\/p>\n
The C\u2019s still hold the No. 2 seed in the East, but the No. 1 seed is looking out of reach with Boston sitting 4.5 games back of Detroit with nine games to play.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Hornets are fighting for a top-eight seed in the East, as a recent loss dropped them back down to 10th in the latest standings.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a look at the odds, my favorite prop bet and a prediction for Sunday\u2019s matchup, which could be a potential first-round playoff series.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celtics vs. Hornets Odds, Spread and Total<\/p>\n
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook<\/a><\/p>\n Spread<\/p>\n Celtics +1.5 (-110)Hornets -1.5 (-110)<\/p>\n Moneyline<\/p>\n Celtics: +100Hornets: -120<\/p>\n Total<\/p>\n 214.5 (Over -110\/Under -110)Celtics vs. Hornets How to WatchDate: Sunday, March 29Time: 6:00 p.m. ESTVenue: Spectrum CenterHow to Watch (TV): NBC Sports Boston, FanDuel Sports Network (Local)Celtics record: 49-24Hornets record: 39-35Celtics vs. Hornets Injury ReportsCeltics Injury ReportJaylen Brown \u2013 outJayson Tatum \u2013 availableNeemias Queta \u2013 probableDerrick White \u2013 questionableNikola Vucevic \u2013 outHornets Injury ReportTosan Evbuomwan \u2013 outPJ Hall \u2013 outTidjane Salaun \u2013 outGrant Williams \u2013 outAntonio Reeves \u2013 outCeltics vs. Hornets Best NBA Prop BetsHornets Best NBA Prop BetKon Knueppel 4+ 3-Pointers Made (+116)<\/p>\n In today\u2019s best NBA props column for SI Betting<\/a>, I shared why Knueppel is a great plus-money target against Boston:\u00a0<\/p>\n Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel is shooting 43.6 percent from beyond the arc this season, averaging 19.0 points per game.<\/p>\n Now, he takes on a Boston Celtics team that could be short-handed on the front end of a back-to-back. The C\u2019s are just 23rd in the NBA in opponent 3s made per game and 16th in opponent 3-point percentage in the 2025-26 season, and they allowed Knueppel to shoot 4-for-8 from 3 against them back on March 4.<\/p>\n Knueppel has made four or more 3-pointers in seven games this month, so he\u2019s a pretty solid value at +116 to hit this prop.\u00a0<\/p>\n Celtics vs. Hornets Prediction and Pick<\/p>\n Earlier today, I shared in my NBA Best Bets column \u2013 Peter\u2019s Points<\/a> \u2013 why Charlotte is a great bet at home:<\/p>\n The Celtics have listed Jaylen Brown (out), Jayson Tatum (available), Neemias Queta (probable) and Derrick White (questionable) on the injury report on the front end of a back-to-back on Sunday.<\/p>\n Brown already missed Friday\u2019s game with Achilles tendinitis, and the C\u2019s may decide to punt one of these two games as they look to lock up a top-two seed in the East. Now, Joe Mazzulla\u2019s squad won even though it was short-handed on Friday, but the Hornets may be a tougher matchup than Atlanta \u2013 even though the Hawks have been rolling lately against a soft schedule.<\/p>\n Charlotte is No. 2 in the league (behind only the San Antonio Spurs) in net rating over its last 15 games, and it blew out Boston 118-89 back on March 4. The Hornets need every game they can get if they want to avoid the No. 9 or No. 10 (their current spot) seed in the East.\u00a0<\/p>\n This play is a little bit of a risky one \u2013 so I\u2019d understand not tailing \u2013 but if Boston sits multiple players, this line is going to fly in Charlotte\u2019s favor. The Hornets are 11-5 against the spread as home favorites this season \u2013 the third-best record in the NBA.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pick: Hornets Moneyline (-120 at DraftKings)<\/a><\/p>\n Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.<\/p>\n If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n Find Peter Dewey’s\u00a0NBA betting record here<\/a>\u00a0(futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on \u00a0BetStamp here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Claim the latest\u00a0DraftKings promo code<\/a>\u00a0offer today. Sign up and win your first $5 bet to get\u00a0$200 in bonus bets instantly.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LaMelo Ball and the Charlotte Hornets have been red hot since the turn of the new year, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3766],"tags":[7,45,75,3798,46,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-686519","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boston-celtics","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-boston","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-bostonceltics","12":"tag-celtics","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116314040711262534","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=686519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/686519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=686519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=686519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=686519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}