The Boston Celtics are set to hit the road as they take on the reeling and struggling Charlotte Hornets Monday night inside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, NC. They tip it off at 7 pm. Boston has been on a great run of late while the Hornets look to snap a four-game slide. 

The Celtics (11-2) are clearly one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference let alone the entire league. With Philadelphia playing as well as they are, Boston has kept one eye on the 76ers who might give them a fight for the top spot in the Atlantic Division as the season wears on. They picked up a nice win on Sunday, 102-100 over Memphis

On offense, Boston is as talented as any team out there. They have a bunch of playmakers and a ton of athleticism as they are led by rising star Jayson Tatum who is averaging around 27 a game and he is also logging a ton of minutes. He plays 37 minutes a game and the Celtics are hoping they can get some big leads heading into the final stanza so they can give him some rest here and there. 

Tatum netted 20 in Sunday's win. 

He gets some much-needed help from teammate shooting guard Jaylen Brown who is contributing 22 a game but he is also dealing with a tough groin injury. Interesting to see if he suits up on Monday night. 

Boston is connecting on 47% from the floor, including a solid 58% from beyond the arc. They are a dangerous team from beyond the arc and can really light it up from there in spurts. 

The Hornets (3-9) have once again been slow out of the gate and they have struggled mightily to start the season. This is something that has really plagued them over the last several seasons and right now they are in the midst of a four-game losing streak. They have dropped six of seven overall and have won only three times in 12 games this season. 

They have had some bad defensive lapses late in games and their last two games they were not even remotely competitive -- loses to New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks. They gave up 122 and 130 points in those losses. 

They are not a team built on offense that can get up and down the court and match team's bucket for bucket. They are led by LaMelo Ball who has been fantastic and one of the long bright spots for them this season, as he is averaging 24 points per game to go along with eight assists per game and close to six rebounds per contest. 

As a whole, they turn the ball over 13 times and need to be more careful. They do not have a top heaving scoring offense that can make up for bad turnovers and easy transitional buckets going the other way. 

The Hornets are 1-4 in their last five games and 1-3 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 3-2 in their road games against the number as well. The totals have gone over in three of their last five games and three out of their last seven games at home. Boston is 4-1 in their last five games against the number and 2-3 in their road games against the spread.  Boston has a ton of scorers and they should cover this one easily.