It looks like no reason to back off of Charlotte, which should exit the trade deadline in better shape once ex-Bulls G Coby White assumes active duty (he'll likely be held out thru the All-Star break to tend to his right calf). In the meantime what the Hornets have been doing is just fine, winning seven straight, showing spunk mettle on Monday when rallying from 22 down to beat the Pelicans in an early Monday tip-off, when LaMelo Ball scored 24. Usually in the win streak, it's been Brandon Miller, who led Charlotte in scoring in eight of nine game before Monday. As for the Rockets, they've been a money-burner the past month, dropping 13 of their last 17 vs. the spread. Play Hornets

FanDuel. Amen Thompson has cleared this line in 25 of his last 32 games, averaging 32.3 combined points, rebounds and assists over that span. Even in a slower matchup against the Hornets, this line reads as too low for Thompson. The Hornets are a rim funnel for ball-handlers, allowing the 10th most points at the rim and eighth most points for pick and roll ball-handlers overall. And the Hornets allow the ninth most assists at the rim - all are helpful for how Thompson accrues his production. And the Rockets are implied at around 112 points, only 3.5 less than their average on the season. I don’t see the matchup justifying such a low line for the dynamic Thompson.

Charlotte has been really impressive of late and Houston is in the second of a B2B. But this seems a bit light at Houston -- still a talent gap. Actually believe the Rockets getting punked at home last night only helps matters. Coby White will not make his Hornets debut not that it would change my mind.

The Hornets have won 7 consecutive games and Brandon Miller has been the focal point of the offense having been the teams high scorer in 5 of those games while averaging 22 PPG in January and increasing his scorer average every subsequent month. Miller is a natural scorer and prior to his last performance had eclipsed this in 10 consecutive games. Look for Miller to once again lead the way in a game that projects to be competitive between two of the hottest teams in the Association.