Jazz vs. Clippers Game 2 Pick
Will the Los Angeles Clippers even their series with the Utah Jazz when the two meet in Game 2 of their series tonight at 10:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Clippers are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -9 points against the Jazz. The over/under total for the game is listed at 198.5 points.
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Utah took Game 1 of the series with a 97-95 win on the road on Saturday. The Clippers have still won and covered in five of their last seven meetings with the Jazz. Utah comes into tonight’s game 52-31 overall, 23-19 on the road and 37-42-4 against the spread. Los Angeles is 51-32 overall, 29-13 at home and 40-42-1 against the spread.
Game 1 saw Joe Johnson hit a floater with 1 second left to give the Jazz a 2-point win. The Clippers let the contest slip away thanks in part to 15 turnovers. The Jazz were 38-of-79 shooting in the win with some big bench play from Johnson and Derrick Favors. Favors had 15 points and six rebounds and helped fill in for the injured Rudy Gobert, who went down in the opening minute of play. Gobert will not play today due to a knee injury. Blake Griffin had 26 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers while Chris Paul had 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Game 1 was close and I think Game 2 should be as well. The Jazz were up to the defensive challenge of slowing down the Clippers and did so even without Gobert in the paint. Los Angeles seemed to be the hottest team entering the playoffs, but they have a Washington Capitals-type stigma about them that tends to lead to playoff letdowns. The Jazz don’t impress many with their roster, but they play hard and win a lot of games they shouldn’t. I’ll gladly take this gritty team with 9 points.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: UTAH JAZZ +9