Jazz vs. Thunder Pick
Are the Utah Jazz a good play tonight when they battle the host Oklahoma City Thunder at 8PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Thunder are a 7.5-point favorite on the spread line. The over-under is set at 198 points.
Utah comes in with a 14-17 overall record and 17-14 ATS after a 120-99 loss at the Rockets. Oklahoma City is 15-15 overall and 10-20 ATS following a 95-94 home victory over the Nuggets. The two meetings already this season are split 1-1 straight up with each team winning on their home floor, while the Jazz are 2-0 ATS. The Thunder are 4-2 straight up and 3-3 ATS in six meetings since the start of last season. The under is 4-2.
In the loss at Houston, Utah was paced by Rodney Hood off the bench as he scored a team-best 26 points. He also accounted for four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Joe Ingles had 17 points, four assists and three rebounds. Ricky Rubio added 14 points, four assists, three boards and two steals. The Jazz were throttled in the fourth quarter by the Rockets, being outscored 41-15.
Russell Westbrook scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter to lead OKC to the win over Denver. He also notched nine rebounds, six assists and three steals. Alex Abrines was the only other Thunder player in double figures for scoring as he had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench. Paul George had eight points, six rebounds and three steals. Dakari Johnson tallied eight points and three boards. Andre Roberson contributed eight points, four caroms and two assists. Jerami Grant added eight points and three rebounds. Oklahoma City outscored the guests 25-18 in the fourth.
Utah is 3-9-1 ATS in its last 13 meetings in Oklahoma City. The under is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings.
Oklahoma City has been a disappointment this season and oddsmakers have been slow to adjust as its .333 winning percentage ATS shows. The Thunder have plenty of talent to be much more than a .500 team, but thus far it hasn’t come together. Westbrook was really the only player to play well versus Denver and even the reigning NBA MVP has had plenty of blame for OKC’s underwhelming season. As for Utah, it hung right in with Houston until running out of steam and getting whooped in the fourth quarter. Look for the Jazz to maximize every possession tonight and cover a spread that might be a couple points too wide. While Utah has a couple injuries in its interior, it shouldn’t hurt as much against a perimeter-oriented team such as the Thunder.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: UTAH JAZZ +7.5