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The Portland Trail Blazers test the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena on Friday night.
Portland heads to Utah right after hosting the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night The Blazers’ four-game winning streak ended at the hands of the Denver Nuggets last Tuesday. Portland tries to get back on track on Thursday night and will hit the road to take on Utah on Friday evening. The Jazz have struggled recently. Utah is just 4-6 SU heading to this game and they have lost five straight games after winning 14 of 15 games. These teams played just last Saturday with the Blazers winning 124-107 behind Damian Lillard’s 51-point game.
Dame Cools Down
After a historic run that saw him score at least 30 points in eight consecutive games, Damian Lillard finally cooled down and the with him went the Portland Trail Blazers. With Lillard scoring just 21 points on 8-23 shooting from the floor, the Blazers scored just 99 points and lost by a margin of 28 points to the Denver Nuggets last Tuesday.
Lillard had averaged 48.8 points per game in his last six games played and he was hitting 56% of his three-pointers during that period. Against the Nuggets, Dame shot just 1-6 from behind the three-point area. C.J. McCollum added 20 points for the Blazers who were hosting the Spurs as of this writing.
Portland ranks 9th overall in scoring at 113.3 points per game this season. The Blazers are also 9th in rebounding at 45.8 boards grabbed per contest and they are last in the league in passing at 20.0 assists per game. The Blazers have the 5th worst scoring defense in the league at 115.0 points per game allowed.
Jazz in a Funk
Just last week, the Utah Jazz were the hottest team in the league with 18 wins in their last 20 games. However, the Jazz have been in a funk since then, losing five consecutive games heading to this contest. In their last game, Utah lost 95-98 to a short-handed Denver Nuggets team on Wednesday evening.
Mike Conley, who returned to the starting lineup last Saturday, led the Jazz with 21 points. Donovan Mitchell scored 18 points but he shot just 8-24 from the field on Wednesday night. Bojan Bogdanovic had 16 points while Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Utah.
Utah ranks 16th in scoring at 110.8 points per game this season. They are 16th in rebounding at 45.4 boards grabbed per contest and are 27th in passing at 22.1 dimes per contest. The Jazz rank 7th overall in the league in scoring defense as they allow their opponents to score just 106.8 points per game this year.
Who Wins?
The Blazers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games heading to Thursday’s games. Portland is 2-3 SU in their last five games played on the road, and 7-13 SU in their last 20 road games against the Western Conference. The Jazz are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played. Utah is 3-2 SU in their last five games played at home, and 10-5 in their last 15 home games against the Western Conference. Head to head, the Jazz are 4-2 SU in their last six games played against the Blazers.
The Blazers are still five games below the .500 mark but this team has been hitting its stride in the past couple of weeks. Portland has lost just four times in their last 10 outings and won four straight games before losing to the Nuggets in their last outing. Trevor Ariza has been averaging 10.3 points per game in his last six games played and he has given the Blazers a lift on both ends of the floor.
Utah has struggled since their torrid winning run. The Jazz have dropped five straight games heading to this contest. Despite that, Utah is 18-5 SU at home and they will be facing a Blazers team that played in Portland on Thursday night. The Blazers are just 4-6 SU in their last 10 back end games of a back to back schedule.
The Jazz need a win right now. They are in a very good position here against a Portland team playing back to back games. Damian Lillard finally cooled down against the Nuggets and if Utah can limit him again, this will be a very winnable game for them. I like the hosts to end their slump and beat the Blazers.
Prediction: Utah Jazz
Other Bets to Make
Portland is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Blazers are 2-3 ATS in their last five road games played, and 7-13 ATS in their last 20 games against teams from the Western Conference. Utah is 3-6-1 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Jazz are 2-2-1 ATS in their last five games played at home, and 6-8-1 ATS in 15 home games against Western Conference teams this season. Head to head, the Jazz are 4-2 ATS in their last six games played against the Blazers.
Trail Blazers
+8 (-110)
Jazz
-8 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 02/06/20
The Blazers have played much better as of late while the Jazz have not. However, Portland heads to Salt Lake City right after hosting the Spurs at the Moda Center. There are no major injuries on both sides although the Blazers are without Nurkic, Hood and Zach Collins. Portland is playing its third game in four days. I like the well-rested Jazz to bounce back at home.
Prediction: Jazz -8
The total has gone over in eight out of the last 10 games played by Portland. The over is 4-1 in the Blazers’ last five games played on the road, and 9-5 in 14 road games played against the Western Conference this season. The total has gone over in six out of the last 10 games played by the Jazz. Utah has seen the total go over in eight out of their last 15 home games against the Western Conference. The over is 12-11 in their 23 home games played this season. Head to head, the total has gone over in each of the last three games between these two teams.
Over
227 (-110)
Under
227 (-110)
Odds from BetOnline as of 02/06/20
Portland has allowed at least 119 points in seven out of their last 10 games played. They have gone over the 227 total in six out of their last seven games played. The Blazers are in the Top 10 in scoring and the bottom 10 in scoring defense this season. The Jazz are a very good defensive team but they too, have seen the total go over 227 points in three out of their last five games played. They combined for 231 points last February 1 too so I like these teams to hit the over in this game.
Prediction: Over 227
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