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The Utah Jazz hit the road and face the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday night.
Utah looks to pick up the pace after winning just one game in a recent six-game homestand. The Jazz are trying to catch the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference playoff race and every game right now matters to them. The Cavs are out of playoff contention but this is a young team that has played better since the All-Star break. This is the first meeting between these two teams this season.
Jazz End Four-Game Losing Streak
The Utah Jazz ended a four-game losing streak with a 129-119 home win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. The win upped Utah’s record to 37-22 on the season. They are currently three games behind the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Northwest Division and they are two games behind the Houston Rockets for the 4th seed in the Western Conference.
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 30 points including 10 during an 82 second stretch in the 4th period that helped the Jazz pull away for good. Bojan Bogdanovic added 21 points, Jordan Clarkson scored 20 off the bench, and Mike Conley chipped in 16 for Utah which salvaged a win during their six-game homestand.
Utah has the 9th best scoring defense in the league at 108.2 points per game allowed this season. They are ranked 17th in scoring at 111.3 points per game on the year. The Jazz rank 11th in rebounding at 45.6 boards grabbed per contest and they are 26th in passing at 22.0 assists per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers dropped their second straight outing as they suffered a 104-113 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers at home on Saturday night. The loss was their first consecutive defeats since J.B. Bickerstaff took over as head coach following Jim Beilein’s resignation during the All-Star break. The Cavs are 3-3 since the break and they will be playing the second of a five-game homestand on Monday night.
Andre Drummond returned from a two-game absence due to a strained left calf and scored 27 games while grabbing 13 rebounds. Kevin Love added 20 points and 12 boards for Cleveland while Collin Sexton contributed 16 points. Tristan Thompson did not play the game because of a bruised knee.
Cleveland ranks 26th in scoring at 106.5 points per game on the season. They are 24th when it comes to scoring defense at 114.7 points per game allowed. The Cavaliers are 20th off the boards with an average of 44.3 boards grabbed per contest and are 25th in passing at 27 assists per game on the year.
Who Wins?
The Jazz are 1-4 SU in their last five games played. Utah has won its last two games played on the road, and are 10-1 SU in their last 11 games played against the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers are 5-15 SU in their last 20 games played. Cleveland is 3-13 SU in their last 16 games played at home. Head to head, the Jazz are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played against the Cavaliers.
Utah went 0-5 in the first five games of their recently-concluded six-game homestand. They faced the lowly Wizards in the last game and finally got a win before heading to Cleveland for this Monday encounter. Donovan Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in his last four games played while Bojan Bogdanovic ended a scoring slump with 21 points in their last outing.
The Cavaliers got back Andre Drummond after a two-game absence. Drummond immediately made his presence felt during their loss to the Pacers. The Cleveland frontline of Drummond, Thompson, and Love is a formidable one. But Utah has more versatile scorers in Mitchell, Bogdanovic, and Clarkson.
Cleveland is just 9-23 SU at home this season while Utah has a winning record on the road at 16-13 SU. With Bogdanovic and Clarkson coming off very good scoring nights, I expect the Jazz to carry the momentum and beat the Cavaliers in a comfortable win in Cleveland.
Prediction: Utah Jazz
Other Bets to Make
Utah is 0-5 ATS in their last five games played. The Jazz are 2-0 ATS in their last two road games, and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against the Central Division. Cleveland is 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven games played. The Cavs are 3-2-1 ATS in their last six games played at home, and 3-9 ATS in their last 12 Monday games. Head to head, the Jazz are 8-1-1 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Cavs.
Jazz
-8 (-110)
Cavaliers
+8 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 03/01/20
The Jazz have outscored the Cavs by an average of 15.0 points per game in their last three meetings and have beaten Cleveland by at least 16 points in their last two head to head games. The Cavaliers have lost by at least 8 points in their last four losses. Mitchell has put up four straight 30-point games heading to Cleveland and the Cavs could be without Tristan Thompson who has a left knee contusion. Thompson is averaging 12.2 points per game this season. I like where the Jazz are at.
Prediction: Jazz -8
The over is 4-3 in Utah’s last seven games played. The total has gone over in eight out of their last 10 games played on the road. The total has gone under in six out of the last nine games played by the Cavs. The under is 4-2 in Cleveland’s last six games against the Western Conference, and also 4-2 in their last six games against the Northwest Division. Head to head, the total has gone under in six out of the last seven meetings between these two teams.
Over
219 (-110)
Under
219 (-110)
Odds from SportsBetting as of 03/01/20
The Jazz have given up at least 113 points in eight out of their last nine assignments, including four games of at least 119 points. The Cavs have also allowed 113 or more points in four out of their last five games played and they have a Bottom 10 scoring defense. Thompson could miss this game for Cleveland but with the way the Jazz are giving up points in recent weeks, the Cavs should be able to help Utah push the total over 219.
Prediction: Over 219
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