Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/15/2026 Preview and Pick

Game: Charlotte Hornets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026

Location: crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Charlotte Hornets (14-26) are hitting the road to crypto.com Arena on Thursday where they will take on the Los Angeles Lakers (24-14).

The Hornets faced off with the Clippers and went home with a loss by a final score of 117-109 in their last contest. Charlotte finished with a 48.9% field goal percentage (43 out of 88) and knocked down 10 out of their 33 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Hornets made 13 of their 17 attempts for a rate of 76.5%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 49 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 24 assists in this game in addition to creating 5 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Regarding defense, Charlotte allowed their opponent to shoot 44.6% from the field on 41 of 92 shooting. Los Angeles recorded 22 assists and had 7 steals for the matchup. In addition, Los Angeles snagged 37 rebounds (9 offensive, 28 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Los Angeles finished the contest at 81.0% from the charity stripe by making 17 of their 21 tries. They converted 18 out of their 49 tries from downtown. Regarding fouls, the Hornets finished with 17 while the Clippers finished the game with 15 fouls.

LaMelo Ball is a guy who came through in the game. Ball finished the game shooting 45.8% from the field and distributed 5 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 32 minutes and also snagged 9 rebounds. He was able to score 25 points on 11 of 24 shooting.

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Charlotte enters this matchup with a mark of 14-26 this season. They are averaging 116.1 pts per game (17th in basketball) while shooting 45.9% from the field. The Hornets are connecting on 37.0% on shots from distance (610 of 1,647) and 81.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Charlotte is pulling down 45.3 boards per game and has totaled 1,057 dimes so far this year, which ranks 11th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 15.6 times per contest and as a squad are committing 19.3 fouls every game.

On defense, the Hornets are able to force 12.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 21.0 fouls. They are giving up 37.6% on 3-point shots while they are 18th in basketball in points per game allowed (116.7). The Hornets defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 48.1% (1,731 of 3,601) and they concede 40.2 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are 26th in basketball in allowing assists with 1,116 conceded on the season.

In their last game, the Lakers took home the win by a final score of 141-116 against the Hawks. With respect to rebounding, Los Angeles permitted Atlanta to collect 32 in total (12 offensive). They wrapped up this game 28.3% from 3-point land by going 13 of 46 and finished the contest at 13 of 18 from the free throw line (72.2%). The Lakers allowed the Hawks to bury 45 out of 100 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.0% for the game. Overall, the Lakers walked away from this one shooting 48 out of 83 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 57.8%. When it comes to shooting from downtown, Los Angeles buried 19 out of their 34 tries (55.9%). They were able to knock down 26 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 86.7%. The Hawks were called for 23 personal fouls for this contest which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 30 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while getting 2 steals in the matchup. The Lakers recorded 37 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 47 for the contest.

LeBron James ended up being a factor for the Lakers in the game. He made 12 out of 20 in this game for a rate of 60.0%, and had 9 rebounds. James scored 31 points in his 33 mins of playing time and had 10 assists for this game.

Los Angeles has a record of 24-14 on the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Lakers are shooting 49.8% from the floor, which is 2nd in the league. Los Angeles has accumulated 4,426 pts for the year (116.5 per game) and they grab 41.5 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 25.1 times per game (22nd in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 15.3 times per contest. The Lakers are committing 19.7 fouls every game and they hit 77.8% from the free throw line.

The Los Angeles defense gives up 37.1% on 3-pointers (514 of 1,387) and opponents are making 79.2% of their foul shots. They have conceded 27.4 dimes and 40.3 boards on a nightly basis, which is 22nd and 3rd in basketball. The Lakers on defense are ranked 17th in the league in points given up per game with 116.4. They have forced 15.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 48.7% from the field (28th in basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Charlotte

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