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The Los Angeles Lakers hit the road and travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on Friday, January 11, 2019 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.
The Lakers have won back to back games while the Jazz have won three of five to bolster their playoff bids. Los Angeles is coming off a win over the Detroit Pistons while the Jazz are fresh off a win over the Orlando Magic. Los Angeles beat Utah 90-83 in their first meeting of the season last November 23, 2018 with LeBron James putting up 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Kuzma Sparks Lakers
With LeBron James still out of action, the Lakers entrusted their offense to their second-leading scorer Kyle Kuzma. Unfortunately, Kuzma suffered a back injury that led to back to back losses but since returning to action, Kuzma has sparked the Lakers to back to back wins in their last two games. Kuzma scored only 13 points in his first game back but he exploded for a career high 41 points in three quarters against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Lakers are the 12th best scoring team in the league with their 112.2 points per game average. Los Angeles ranks 8th in rebounding with 46.7 rebounds per game and tied for 13th in passing at 24.6 assists per game. Defensively, the Lakers allow 110.8 points per game, putting them at 17th among 30 NBA teams.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz 1/11/19
Moneyline Odds: Lakers +295, Jazz -385
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/11/19
The Jazz At .500
After an exciting playoff run last season, big things were expected from the Utah Jazz this season. But the Jazz struggled to start their season and it wasn’t until Wednesday night that the Jazz returned to the.500 mark for the first time in a long while. At 12-13 away from home, Utah has played the most road games so far this season and they are surely glad to be home on Friday to test the young Lakers.
The Jazz are ranked 22nd in the NBA in scoring at 107.8 points per game. Utah is ranked 11th in assists at 24.7 dimes per contest. They are also 22nd in rebounding at 44.3 boards per contest. On the defensive end, the Jazz rank 5th in scoring defense at 105.5 points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Lakers are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played and Los Angeles is 2-2 SU in their last four road games played. The Jazz are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played. The Jazz are 3-2 SUn in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Jazz are 8-2 SU in their last 10 meetings against the Lakers.
As for Utah, Mitchell is averaging 24.4 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in the first five games of January. Mitchell is shooting 16-34 from the three point area this month. The Jazz will need more from Mitchell as their backcourt is saddled with injuries.
The Jazz will be without Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum on Friday as both are out indefinitely with leg injuries. Rubio is Utah’s starting point guard while Exum is his back-up. Without the two, Utah is left with just one true point guard in their line-up in Raul Neto.
Utah has won seven out of their last nine home games while the Lakers have lost. five of their last eight away from home. There’s just a world of difference when LeBron James is around. That will be the difference in this game. Kuzma and Ingram have stepped it up but against a balanced team like the Jazz, the Lakers are going to come up short in Utah.
We’re picking the Utah Jazz to beat the Los Angeles Lakers on 1/11/19.
Other Bets To Make
The Lakers are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played but are 3-1 ATS in their last four road games played. The Jazz are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games and are 3-2 ATS in their last five home games. Head to head, the Lakers are 6-4 ATS in their last 10 meetings.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz 1/11/19
Spread Odds: Lakers +9 (-109), Jazz -9 (-109)
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/11/19
The Lakers are 4-11-1 ATS in their last 16 games after an ATS win and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 Friday games. Utah is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 home games, 7-2-1 ATS in their last nine games when playing on one-day rest and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games against teams from the West. The Jazz are without their top two point guards but the Lakers are missing only the best player in the game. Sure, L.A. has won two in a row but Utah is obviously better than Dallas and Detroit.
Prediction: Jazz -9
The under is 7-3 in the Lakers’ last 10 games played. The total has gone under in three out of the last four road games played by Los Angeles. The under is 6-4 in Utah’s last 10 games played. The Jazz have seen the under hit in four out of their last five road games. Head to head, the under is 4-2 in the last six meetings between these two teams.
Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz 1/11/19
Over/Under Odds: Over 216.5 -109, Under 216.5 -109
Odds from gtbets.eu as of 1/11/19
The under is 5-0 in Utah’s last five games against Western Conference teams. The under is 4-0 in the Lakers’ last four against the Northwest Division and 4-1 in their last five road games. The under is all over the trends because both teams play tough defense. The Jazz of course are the 5th best defensive team in the league and while the Lakers are only 17th in scoring defense, the under is 26-15-1 in their 42 games this season and 11-9 in their 20 road games played so far. The last time these teams played earlier this season, they combined for 173 points. I’ll take the under.
Prediction: Under 216.5
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