Charlotte Hornets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, 12/22/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Cleveland Cavaliers

Date: Monday, December 22, 2025

Location: Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH

TV: Peacock

The Charlotte Hornets (9-18) are hitting the road to Rocket Arena on Monday where they will meet the Cleveland Cavaliers (15-13).

The Hornets stepped onto the hardwood against the Hawks and took home the win by a score of 133-126 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Hornets finished with 21 while the Hawks racked up 20 fouls. They also buried 11 of 37 attempts from beyond the arc. Atlanta ended up shooting 86.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 19 of 22 shots. Furthermore, Atlanta grabbed 35 boards (9 offensive, 26 defensive) and had 3 blocks. Atlanta earned 31 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. Concerning the defense, Charlotte allowed 52.2% from the floor on 48 of 92 shooting. They also doled out 39 dimes for this contest while forcing 15 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When talking about rebounding, they earned a total of 37 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Hornets knocked down 11 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 64.7%. Charlotte wrapped up the game having earned a 53.8% FG percentage (49 out of 91) and buried 24 of 49 shots from downtown.

LaMelo Ball is someone who was a major factor for this game. Ball finished the contest at 62.5% from the floor and earned 13 assists. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes and totaled 4 boards. He had 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting.

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Charlotte enters this game with a record of 9-18 on the campaign. They turn it over 15.8 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Charlotte is pulling in 44.2 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 704 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 15th in the league in terms of passing. The Hornets are hitting 35.4% on three-point attempts (388 of 1,097) and 81.7% from the free throw line. They are averaging 115.5 pts per game (18th in the league) while hitting 45.8% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Hornets are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 21.3 personal fouls. They currently rank 29th in the league in giving up assists to their opponents with 781 relinquished for the season. The Hornets are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 49.2% (1,201 of 2,443) and they relinquish 40.5 boards per contest as a unit. They concede 38.5% on 3-pointers and they rank 24th in basketball in PPG allowed (118.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the Cavaliers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 127-111 when they played the Bulls. When discussing rebounding, Cleveland permitted Chicago to snag 43 in all (6 offensive). They finished shooting 38.9% from beyond the perimeter by going 14 out of 36 and ended up going 13 of 18 from the free throw line (72.2%). The Cavaliers permitted the Bulls to convert 50 out of 89 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 56.2% for this contest. When all was said and done, the Cavaliers ended up shooting 42 out of 87 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.3%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Cleveland converted 12 out of 39 attempts (30.8%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 83.3%. The Bulls had 17 fouls in the matchup which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 18 tries. They gave up possession 20 times, while recording 6 steals in the game. The Cavaliers recorded 32 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 40 in this contest.

Donovan Mitchell was important for the Cavaliers in this contest. He knocked down 11 out of 23 for the game for a field goal rate of 47.8%, and accounted for 1 rebound. Mitchell tallied 32 points in his 33 mins on the hardwood and earned 5 dimes in the matchup.

Cleveland has a mark of 15-13 for the campaign. As an offensive team, the Cavaliers are connecting on 45.7% from the field, which is 24th in the league. Cleveland has tallied 3,316 pts for the year (118.4 per game) and they grab 44.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 26.8 times per contest (10th in the league) and they are giving up possession 13.9 times per game. The Cavaliers are responsible for committing 21.5 personal fouls per contest and they hit 77.4% from the charity stripe.

The Cleveland defense gives up 36.6% on three-point shots (369 of 1,007) and their opponents are making 79.6% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 27.0 assists and 45.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks 17th and 21st in the league. The Cavaliers are ranked 16th in basketball in PPG given up with 116.3. They are able to force 16.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the field (12th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Charlotte

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