Keagan Smith dives into his pick and prediction for the Charlotte Hornets vs. San Antonio Spurs game on Saturday’s NBA slate.

Saturday’s NBA slate tips off early, and one of the afternoon matchups has the makings of a real heater. The Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs are two of the hottest teams in the NBA over the last couple of months, and today they clash in South Texas at the Frost Bank Center.

Here’s a Hornets vs. Spurs prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s contest.

Hornets vs. Spurs prediction, preview

Charlotte Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets sit 34-33 on the campaign and have pushed their way above the .500 mark at long last. Since January 1, they have the NBA’s fourth-best winning percentage at 23-11 and look like an entirely different team than the one we saw through the season’s early months.

The Hornets’ NETRTG of +3.5 puts them 10th in the league and they rank 25th in pace. However, that NETRTG sees a bump to first in the NBA at +10.1 since the new year began. They score 115.7 PPG thanks to some of the hottest three-point shooting in the sport, hitting 37.9% from downtown with the second-most 3PM/GM. While only hitting 45.9% of their shots overall, this is clearly a standout offense. The Hornets also rank sixth on the glass with 46.2 rebounds and ninth in opponent PPG, allowing 112.3.

While the roster lacks a true alpha scorer, Brandon Miller’s 20.7 PPG are a team-best. LaMelo Ball brings 19.4 points with a team-high 7.2 assists, and Kon Knueppel scores 19.2 PPG while shooting a blazing 44.0% from beyond the arc. Miles Bridges contributes 17.5 points with 5.9 rebounds, joined by Moussa Diabate’s 8.1 points and 8.7 rebounds in the frontcourt. Coby White, probable to play today, scores 11.9 PPG. Ryan Kalkbrenner, also probable, averages 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds.

San Antonio Spurs

These San Antonio Spurs are just as hot as the Hornets. They’re 48-18 overall and have the NBA’s best record since January 1 at 27-9, good for a .727 winning percentage. Despite their postseason inexperience, this looks like a true contending roster.

With a +6.9 NETRTG, the Spurs are fourth in the league in the stat as well as 11th in pace. San Antonio’s offense sits fourth in scoring thanks to 118.5 PPG, and it’s an efficient unit with the seventh-best FG% 47.9% even if a 35.8% 3P% lags behind somewhat. The Spurs are also largely clean with the ball, dishing 27.4 assists with a 2.033 AST/TO ratio that falls seventh. On the glass, they rank third with 46.4 rebounds per game. As for the defense, we see two-way excellence from this team with just 112.1 PPG allowed to opponents, eighth-fewest, complementing the seventh-most blocks at 5.4 per contest.

Who other than Victor Wembanyama would receive most of the shine here? The 7-foot-4 superstar paces the team with 24.2 points and 11.1 rebounds, and his 3.0 blocks per game are good for the NBA lead. However, he’s questionable today with ankle soreness. De’Aaron Fox averages 19.1 points and 6.4 assists, with fellow guard Stephon Castle posting 16.6 points and 7.0 assists as well. Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson score 14.3 and 12.8 points apiece, with forward Julian Champagnie posting 11.2. Harrison Barnes also scores in the double digits, as does rookie Dylan Harper, questionable today as well.

Hornets vs. Spurs pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Spurs as -4.5 home favorites today with -185 odds on the Moneyline. The Hornets are listed at +154 odds on the ML with the game total set at 231.5 combined points.

These teams have met only once this season back on January 31, a matchup which the Hornets won 111-106. Wembanyama had a quiet outing in that one with only 16 points and eight boards, and Charlotte won the rebounding battle by 15 with eight more offensive boards as well.

This should be another close contest, so I like an alt line of +5.5 for the Hornets here. These are truly two of the league’s elite teams that match up in interesting ways. With top-10 offenses and defenses on each side, there’s some great two-way play from both rosters and a wide range of names who can make a big impact on the stat sheet. Beyond that, both are good on the glass as well, even if the Hornets had the edge last time.

Everything hinges on Wembanyama’s availability, though the Spurs remain a capable roster even without him. I feel good taking Charlotte to cover at +5.5 since the unit is 40-27 ATS overall and 22-14 ATS as the away team, plus the extra point could end up making a big difference here. A deluge of three-pointers from the Hornets should keep things close, but if Wemby doesn’t play, they’re suddenly in an even better spot to cover today… if not win outright. Seriously, Charlotte is for real.

Top pick: CHA Hornets +5.5 (-128)