Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder will look to order up some ‘home cooking’ in their first, post all-star break matchup when they host Rudy Gobert and the visiting Utah Jazz in a matchup of Western Conference title hopefuls on Friday night.
If you’re looking to find out whether the Thunder can extend their excellence at home or whether the defense-first Jazz are the pick to get the big road upset, then let’s find out what’s going to go down in this matchup right now.
Jazz vs Thunder NBA Odds, Predictions & Pick
“We understand what we have to do, especially on the road.” pic.twitter.com/5kpYCp1uuG
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) 21 de febrero de 2019
- When: Friday, February 22, 2019 at 9:30 PM ET
- Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- TV: ATMR, FSOK
- Radio: Utah / Oklahoma City
- Live Stream: NBA League Pass
- NBA Odds: Oklahoma City -3.5 / Total: 225
Why Bet On Utah at +3.5?
Why should you consider backing Utah in this contest? Well, there’s the fact that the Jazz have a decent 14-14 SU mark on the road this season and the last time they visited Oklahoma City in December they nearly walked away with the outright win before falling to the Thunder 107-106.
Then, there’s the fact that the Jazz are one of the best defenvie teams in the league I limiting the opposition to just 105.9 points per game to rank fourth in points allowed. Another good reason to back Utah is the fact that the Jazz were playing solid basketball before the break, having won six of their last nine and 14 of 19, although they did suffer a 115-108 loss to Golden State on Feb. 12 in their last game before the break.
Last but not least, Utah has seen gifted second-year swingman Donovan Mitchell come around after a slow start by putting up 20 points or more in 18 of his last 19 games while scoring 26 points or more in a dozen of those contests.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 109.19
- Field Goals: 46.14%
- Three Points: 34.56%
- Free Throws: 73.29%
- Rebounds: 45.25
- Average Score Against: 105.95
- Field Goals: 45.61%
- Three Points: 35.90%
- Free Throws: 75.70%
- Rebounds: 42.58
Why Bet On Oklahoma City at -3.5?
Why should you consider backing Oklahoma City in this matchup? There are several good reasons to do so. First, the Thunder are playing at home in this contest where they’ve gone 20-7 SU and 16-11 ATS while winning their last half-dozen contests.
Then, there’s the fact that the Jazz have the more explosive offense and two legitimate all-stars in George and superstar point guard Russell Westbrook, who, by the way, is looking to extend his record streak of consecutive triple-doubles to 12 games. Another great reason to back Oklahoma City is the fact that they’re looking for payback after being dispatched by the Jazz in last year’s playoffs.
“We know this team,” Paul George said of the Jazz. “This is probably the best team we could have played coming out of the (All-Star) break just because of our series last year, and this is going to be a tough one. It’s hard to beat a team three times in a row, but we’re up for the challenge.”
Last but not least, Oklahoma City has basically owned Utah on their home floor by winning a whopping 15 straight home dates against the Jazz, not to mention they’lll have recently signed veteran forward Markieff Morris making his debut after missing the last eight weeks due to a neck injury. Morris averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 34 games for Washington before suffering the injury.
“I just came to be a vet, man,” Morris told reporters. “I came to try to help the team keep pushing toward the ultimate goal and that’s to win a championship. I’m just ready to play. I’m excited to be here. I know a bunch of guys on the team already and I’m ready to go.”
Team Statistics
Offense:- Average Score For: 115.42
- Field Goals: 46.23%
- Three Points: 35.21%
- Free Throws: 71.69%
- Rebounds: 47.96
- Average Score Against: 110.18
- Field Goals: 45.86%
- Three Points: 34.65%
- Free Throws: 75.70%
- Rebounds: 45.30
Jazz vs Thunder NBA Betting Trends
- Utah is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
- Utah is 12-4 SU in the last 16 games
- The total went OVER in 5 of Utah’s last 7 games
- Oklahoma City is 4-1 ATS in the last 5 games
- Oklahoma City is 11-2 SU in the last 13 games
- The total went OVER in 13 of Oklahoma City’s last 18 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction for Jazz vs Thunder
While I love Donovan ‘Spydah’ Mitchell and Rudy Gobert and the way Utah plays lockdown defense, I’m going to advise you to back Oklahoma City is this contest simply because they are playing at home and definitely want to send a message to the Jazz that, should they meet in the playoffs again this coming postseason, they’re not going to have a good time when they visit Oklahoma City.
Utah has gone 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games against teams from the Northwest division and just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600.
The Thunder are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall and 9-3 ATS in their last 12 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game. Utah’s offense just isn’t potent enough to keep pace with the Thunder right now and that’s why Oklahoma City will win and cover the chalk!
NBA Betting Pick: Oklahoma City 110 Utah 104
