Jazz vs. Clippers Predictions
The reeling Los Angeles Clippers host the Utah Jazz in a must-win game for both teams on Tuesday night.
The Clippers have lost their last five games while the Jazz have dropped four straight.
LA is in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, 6.5 games behind the Timberwolves while the Jazz are in fifth place, one game behind the Mavericks. Here’s a complete breakdown, including betting odds and free NBA picks.
Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 – 10:00 PM EDT at crypton.com Arena
The Jazz opened at a PK at BetOnline and this sportsbook set the total at 215 in their NBA odds board. FiveThirtyEight has the Jazz as 2-point road favorites, projecting them to win 58 percent of the time. There’s a gap between the projections and the actual odds, should we take the road team or hammer the total?
Someone Has to Win
The Jazz (45-30 SU, 31-41-3 ATS) ended their five-game road trip with four losses in a row, including setbacks in Charlotte and Dallas. Utah allowed 100 points or more in those four games.
Donovan Mitchell averaged 26.3 points on 31.0 percent 3-point shooting in those four losses but he had just 12 points on 4 of 13 shooting against the Mavericks. Jordan Clarkson, on the other hand, added 15.5 points on 37.0 percent from beyond the arc.
The Clippers (36-39 SU and ATS) lost to the Nuggets and 76ers to bring their losing streak to five games. Terance Mann has played well, averaging 16.8 points during their five-game slide while backup center Isaiah Hartenstein dished out 5.6 assists in the last three games, including a career-high eight in the last meeting against the Jazz on March 18.
LA gave up 370 points in their last three games and with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Norman Powell all still out, their short-handed offense simply isn’t equipped to match that kind of output.
Prediction
As mentioned above, these two teams last met on March 18 and the Jazz won 121-92 at home behind 21 points and seven assists from Jared Butler off the bench and 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists from Jordan Clarkson off the bench.
Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 16 rebounds in that contest but he missed Sunday’s game in Dallas with a bruised right leg and is questionable for Tuesday. Gobert played a big part in that beatdown against the Clippers in Utah but even if he’s out, Donovan Mitchell will be available this time. Mitchell didn’t play in the blowout in Utah but he’s good to go for this game and he will play much better than he did against the Mavs on Sunday. I’m taking the Jazz here. Enjoy the game and find more NBA picks here.
NBA Pick: Jazz PK (-110) at BetOnline