The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers square off in a big-time matchup of Western Conference playoff contenders on Wednesday night at the Moda Center.
Donovan Mitchell is heating up and Utah Jazz are making their move in the team standings. After a slow start, the Jazz are now at 7th place in a tightly contested Western Conference, just two games off fourth seeded Portland and just 3.5 games behind third seeded Oklahoma City.
Mitchell is averaging 22.5 points on the season but has scored at least 24 points in his last dozen games and averaging over 30 points per game in his last 10 outings. While Mitchell is rampaging on offense, Rudy Gobert is the anchor on defense. The Stifle Tower is averaging 15.0 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. Ricky Rubio leads Utah with 6.0 assists per game while also contributing 12.8 points per game.
The Jazz are just 21st in the league in scoring at 108.7 points per game. But they have the 3rd best scoring defense in the NBA, allowing their opponents to score just 105.1 points per game this season. Utah is 12th in assists at 24.9 dimes per contest and 16th in rebounding at 45.1 boards per contest.
The Portland Trail Blazers played without superstar point guard Damian Lillard last Saturday because of a knee injury. They hardly felt Dame’s absence after C.J. McCollum took over Lillard’s starting five spot and delivered his first career triple-double to give the Blazers their fourth win in five games and kept Portland at 4th place in the West.
McCollum is averaging 20.8 points per game this season, second only to backcourt partner Lillard who leads the team with 26.2 points per game. Dame is also Portland’s top passer with 6.2 assists per game while Jusuf Nurkic leads the team with 10.4 rebounds per game while also scoring 15.2 points per outing.
Portland has the 10th best scoring average in the NBA at 112.8 points per game. The Blazers are the 2nd best rebounding team in the league at 48.2 boards per contest. However, they only rank 25th in passing at 22.6 assists per game and Portland is giving up 110.1 points per game which is 14th best in the league.
The Jazz are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games played including 2-0 SU in two road games during that period. The Blazers are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played. Portland is 5-0 SU in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Jazz are 6-4 SU in their last 10 encounters versus the Blazers.
Defense has been one of the keys to Utah’s rise in the team standings. But aside from defense, second year star Donovan Mitchell has heated up at the start of the calendar year. Mitchell has scored at least 24 points in his last dozen games played including 29 markers in the Jazz’s last victory, a 125-111 conquest of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday. Mitchell is averaging 30.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game in his last 10 outings.
The Blazers survived playing without Damian Lillard in their last game but Dame is expected to return to action in this game. C.J. McCollum stepped up in Lillard’s absence as he notched his first career triple double against the Atlanta Hawks. With Lillard back and McCollum coming off an explosive game, Portland’s backcourt should be a handful for the Jazz.
These teams have played each other already thrice this season with the Jazz taking the first two meetings and the Blazers winning the most recent one, 109-104 in Utah. Utah is red hot but the Blazers are also rolling and we should have a good game here. I don’t think one team is going to run away with the win and should that be the case and this is going to be close, I’ll roll with the home team. I’m picking the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Utah Jazz on 1/29/19.
Utah 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played, 2-0 ATS in their two road games during that stretch. Portland is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Blazers are 5-0 ATS in their last five home games. Head to head, the Jazz are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games versus the Blazers.
Utah is just 2-6-1 ATS in their last nine games after an ATS win, 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 games after an SU win of over 10 points and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against teams with a winning record of over .600. The Blazers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against Western Conference teams, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games after an ATS win and 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. Head to head, the Jazz are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games against Portland. Prediction: In a pick ‘em game between two powerhouse teams like this, the only edge could be the home court advantage and that belongs to the Blazers here. Prediction: Blazers -1
The under is 6-4 in Utah’s last 10 games. The total has gone over in the two road games played by the Jazz across that period. The over is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games played by Portland. The Blazers have seen the total go 4-0-1 in their last five games played at the Moda Center.
The over is 4-1-1 in Utah’s last six road games and the over is 4-0-1 in the Blazers’ last five home games. Utah’s defensive identity is starting to assert itself and that’s one of the main reasons why the Jazz are humming right now. However, that defense hasn’t been as impressive on the road as it is at home. With Lillard expected to return and McCollum coming off a big night, the Blazers should prevail in a shootout. Prediction: Over 218.
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