NBA Basketball

2026-02-26 - Charlotte Hornets at Indiana Pacers

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

Charlotte Hornets @ Indiana Pacers
United States : NBA Basketball
Thursday 26th February 2026 - Scheduled 7pm
12pm (British Time)

Preview

The strong run just before the All Star Break has given the Charlotte Hornets (28-31) just momentum and, most importantly, motivation to avoid tanking to the finish line. They have moved into the Eastern Conference Play In Tournament positions, although the Hornets still have some work to get through if they are going to hold onto one of the top ten spots that extend past the regular season.

Three losses in four games either side of the All Star Break may have knocked the confidence of some teams, but the Hornets have bounced back to produce consecutive wins and they remain a confident group.

The remainder of the season certainly looks more appealing than what lays in store for the Indiana Pacers (15-44) who reached the NBA Finals last year, but who have slumped to the bottom of the Eastern Conference this time around.

Most felt it was going to be a difficult season when Tyrese Haliburton picked up a significant injury in the NBA Finals, but it has perhaps been even worse than advertised.

It has not helped that the other players on the roster have simply not been able to stay healthy either and the Pacers will be going into this one short-handed again. They have lost all four games played since the All Star Break and Indiana were blown out by the Philadelphia 76ers most recently.

One encouragement has to be that they are facing a Hornets team that have struggled for consistency Defensively, although the current personnel running out on the court for Indiana are going to have their own issues to deal with. Despite the lack of experience, the Pacers have scored at least 114 points in each of the last three defeats, but they are 0-3 against the spread in that time because of huge issues on the other side of the court.

The key to the outcome of this one is going to be which of the teams can impose themselves best.

In recent outings, the Charlotte Hornets have been hot shooting from the three point range and they will be looking to do the same here. However, the Pacers have at least shown some resistance with the last few opponents averaging about 32% from that mark, compared with the 40% efforts Charlotte have been putting together.

If they can slow them down from the distance, the Pacers could keep this one close, but it is a big task for a team missing some many important names on the roster and having traded away key contributors.

The Pacers have won three in a row in this series, including both regular season games played this season, but this looks a tough spot for them against a Hornets team that have been playing with so much more confidence.

You cannot ignore the size of the spread, but the Hornets will have every chance of covering if they can get close to the recent average being found when it comes to the three point shooting.