Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets (02-20-2026) game preview: When and where to watch, expected lineup, injury report, prediction, and more

When the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Charlotte Hornets tonight, they hope to win seven in a row. The NBA odds books have the visitors as 6-point favorites, and both teams will be playing the second half of a back-to-back. On February 20, 2026, the Cavaliers (35-21) will face the Hornets (26-30) in an attempt to extend their winning run to four games on the road.

At the moment, the Cavaliers lead the Hornets by six points. The game has a total of 233.5 points. My Cavaliers vs. Hornets predictions and free NBA picks for the home team to cover on Friday, February 20th remain unchanged despite James Harden's seamless transition onto the Cleveland club.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets - When and where to watch the game

The Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Charlotte Hornets 7:00pm EST at Spectrum Center; Charlotte, NC. FanDuel Sports Network and NBA League Pass will telecast the match. Additionally, Fubo and Prime Videos will stream the match online.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets - Expected Starting Lineups

Cleveland Cavaliers

PG James Harden
SG Donovan Mitchell
SF Dean Wade
PF Evan Mobley
C Jarrett Allen

Charlotte Hornets

PG LaMelo Ball
SG Kon Knueppel
SF Brandon Miller
PF Sion James
C Ryan Kalkbrenner

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets - Injury Report

Cleveland Cavaliers

• Nae'Qwan Tomlin- Day-to-day (Left calf soreness)
• Max Strus- Out (Foot)

Charlotte Hornets

• Grant Williams- Day-to-day (Unspecified)
• Coby White- Out (Calf)
• Liam McNeeley- Out (Ankle)

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Charlotte Hornets - Game Prediction

The Hornets just lost to the Rockets because their offense faltered at crucial points and was subsequently thoroughly outclassed by the legendary basketball player Kevin Durant. On Thursday, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Brooklyn 112-84, averaging 123 points per game and going 3-0 since adding James Harden.

However, Cleveland has experienced issues when playing the Charlotte Hornets. They are only 1-4 ATS in their past five meetings, despite having won six of the last seven straight-up. Yesterday, the Hornets suffered a narrow defeat to Houston, 105-101, but they are resilient. On the second night of a back-to-back, they have the second-best ATS record in the NBA at 9-2. Additionally, they have given up just 105.2 points per game over the past ten games, which is third-best in basketball.


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