NBA Betting Preview: Miami Heat vs. Charlotte Hornets Game 4 Odds, Analysis

In a playoff series that was expected to be the best matchup of the first round, the Charlotte Hornets will host the Miami Heat in Game 4 on Monday looking to pull even at 2-2. Each team has dominated the other at home so far.

The Hornets are listed as consensus three-point favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odd Shark following a 96-80 rout of the Heat in Game 3 as identical chalk.

Many probably thought this series would be closer within the individual games, but that obviously has not been the case, with the home team winning each by an average of 20 points. All three have been decided by double digits, with the host going 3-0 against the spread on the NBA betting lines.

Charlotte would love to continue both of those trends with another home victory in Game 4 and may or may not have swingman Nicolas Batum available, according to Rotoworld.

Batum is still dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of Game 3 and has been upgraded to questionable for Game 4. Replacing him in the starting lineup was not the only move Hornets head coach Steve Clifford made before Game 3, as Clifford replaced Batum and center Cody Zeller with fellow big men Al Jefferson and Frank Kaminsky.

Zeller averaged 8.5 points and six rebounds in the first two games but played better as a reserve in Game 3 with 12 points and eight rebounds in more minutes.

Jefferson and Kaminsky also combined for 25 points and 14 rebounds while getting Miami center Hassan Whiteside into foul trouble. Whiteside finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds.

Still, the Heat are weak inside, especially when Whiteside goes to the bench.

The starting backcourt of Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic totaled 28 points on 11-of-33 shooting between them in Game 3, while Joe Johnson added seven on 3-of-11 from the field. As a team, Miami shot only 34.2 percent (27-for-79) from the field.

While home court has clearly been the difference in this series, each team did break through on the road once when they met during the regular season.

The Heat won 98-95 at Charlotte as four-point road underdogs back on February 5 and then lost at home to the Hornets 109-106 on March 17 as 4.5-point favorites, according to the Odds Shark NBA Database.