Earliest Cash - Rickenbach NBA 8* OVER the total in Charlotte Hornets vs Toronto Raptors @ 7:05 ET Friday - This total opened up as high as 216.5 and has already dropped by a bucket, down to 214.5, as of very early gameday morning. I'll gladly grab the extra value here as this one has the makings of an absolute shootout. Charlotte is off of a rare, strong defensive performance as they held Portland to 85 points in their most recent game. The Hornets have a long-term mark of 60-36 to the over when they are off of a game where they allowed 85 points or less. Also, Charlotte is 7-2 to the over this season in games with a posted total of 210 points or more. On the season, when the Hornets are at home and their line ranges anywhere from +3 to -3, the over has gone 7-2 and we are in that "sweet spot" here with this line. The Raptors come into this game off of a rare, ugly, low-scoring game and I expect them to respond appropriately after their 94-89 loss at Philly. Toronto had gone 5-1 to the over in their 6 games prior to the ugly loss to the Sixers. The over is 5-1 this season (and 25-14 the last 3 seasons) when the Raptors are off of an upset loss as a favorite. When off of a divisional game, Toronto is 7-2 to the over this season. In games with a posted total of 210 or greater, the over is 14-8 in Raptors games this season. As you can see from all of the above trends (including the 210 and over trends), the big total posted on this game is absolutely justified. Toronto had averaged 120 points per game in their 6 games prior to the loss to the 76'ers. The Hornets had allowed an average of 112.4 points per game before their strong defensive effort against a stumbling Trail Blazers team. Their offense has averaged 108 points per game in their last 6 home games. 8* OVER the total in Charlotte early Friday evening