Charlotte vs Washington Odds & Prediction

The Washington Wizards were one of the hottest teams in the NBA from Christmas through the middle of March but are beginning to lose some steam as they return home on Tuesday to host the Charlotte Hornets. The Wizards have dropped three in a row still have a shot at the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference but are running out of time to move up.

Washington got a chance to measure itself against three of the best teams in the Western Conference over the last three games and came up short against the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors. The Wizards’ defense, which has been called into question on occasion throughout the season, surrendered 133 points to the Clippers and was run off the floor in Sunday’s 139-115 loss to the Warriors, who shot 56.2 percent from the floor and buried 16 3-pointers. The Hornets are trending in the opposite direction and won three in a row to put themselves in a position to challenge for one of the final few spots in the East playoff bracket. Charlotte sits in 10th place in the East but is just one game behind eighth-place Miami and two in back of seventh-place Chicago.

ABOUT THE HORNETS (36-41): Charlotte will attack that floundering Washington defense with an offense that averaged 115 points in the last three games and posted at least 105 in each of the last eight contests. “We’re just playing hard,” All-Star guard Kemba Walker told reporters after the Hornets earned their first ever win in Oklahoma City 113-101 on Sunday. “We’re locked into what we have to do. Our coaches give us a great game plan each and every night. We’re going by that, executing and coming out with some big wins. I think we’re playing well right now.” Walker is leading the way while averaging 27.2 points and 5.4 assists in the last five contests.

ABOUT THE WIZARDS (46-31): Washington occupies the No. 4 spot in the East, one game behind the Toronto Raptors and 3 1/2 in back of second-place Cleveland. Sunday’s loss dropped the Wizards to 2-3 on their five-game road trip, and the team will play three of its final five away from home. “Another loss,” All-Star point guard John Wall, who set the franchise record for assists in a season in the third quarter, told reporters after Sunday’s setback. “We tried to play well. We missed some shots. They made more shots than we did, but I think we did well in moving the ball and trying to score.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Hornets C Frank Kaminsky is 11-of-18 from 3-point range while averaging 17.7 points in the last three games.

2. Wizards SF Kelly Oubre Jr. is 0-of-9 from 3-point range over the last three contests.

3. Washington took the first two meetings but dropped a 98-93 decision in Charlotte on March 18.