The Utah Jazz head to Houston to play the Rockets on Thursday at 8 pm ET. Utah is coming off a 117-115 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. Houston, meanwhile, is in New Orleans to play the Pelicans on Wednesday as this is being written before that game.
Utah Hanging On To 10 Seed
Utah concluded its mini two-game homestand on Tuesday with a 117-115 loss to the Sacramento Kings. In the game, the Jazz started out slow as Utah was down 35-23 after the first quarter but rallied as the Jazz outscored the Kings by 13 points in the second and third quarters but was then outscored by three in the fourth to lose the game . In the game, Utah was led by Lauri Markkanen who dropped 28 points, Jordan Clarkson had 24 points, Mike Conley Jr. had 18, Malik Beasley had 16, and Jarred Vanderbilt added 14 points.
The Jazz is currently 19-21 but in 10th place in the West and are 7-14 on the road this season. Utah is currently on a five-game losing skid and 3-7 in their last 10. This season, the Jazz is averaging 117.2 PPG which ranks fourth while Utah is allowing 116.6 PPG which ranks 23rd. The Jazz has been led by Markkanen who’s averaging 23.9 PPG, Clarkson is averaging 20.6, Beasley is averaging 14.2, Sexton is averaging 14.1, and Kelly Olynyk is averaging 12.4 PPG.
Utah is without Sexton due to a hamstring injury.
Rockets On Back To Back
Houston is set to be in New Orleans on Wednesday before heading back home to host the Jazz on Thursday. This season, the Rockets are 10-27 and third last in the NBA as Houston is in a full rebuild mode while the Rockets are 6-12 at home and before the game against New Orleans on a four-game losing skid. Houston has been led by Jalen Green who’s averaging 21.4 PPG, Kevin Porter Jr. is averaging 19.5, Alperen Sengun is averaging 14.4, Jabari Smith Jr. is chipping in with 12.1, and Eric Gordon is chipping in with 11.5 PPG. As a team, Houston is averaging 109.3 PPG which ranks 29th.
In the Rockets’ last game before the back-to-back, Houston suffered a 111-106 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Houston got out to a 26-18 lead after the first quarter and was up 55-44 at the half. Yet, the Rockets were then outscored 67-51 in the second half to lose the game. In the loss, Houston was led by Porter Jr. who had 25 points, Green had 20, Gordon had 19, while Sengun and Smith Jr. had 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Houston wants to be without Jae’Sean Tate.
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Utah has surprised many this season as the Jazz traded Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell but are still in a play-in spot. A big reason for Utah’s success is their offense as they run a fast-paced offense and can shoot the ball well. Houston, meanwhile, is on a back-to-back which will no doubt impact their performance here while the Rockets’ offense is a concern here as Houston likely won’t be able to keep up with Utah’s offense. On no rest of this season, the Rockets are 2-3 against the spread while Utah is 11-10 ATS on the road. The Jazz’s offense is the difference-maker this season which is why I like Utah here as Houston doesn’t have a good enough defense to stop it.
Take Utah.
Prediction: jazz
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I do like the under in this matchup as Houston on a back-to-back will look to slow down the pace while the Rockets’ offense is also not the best. Although Utah does have a great offense and can score a ton of points, the Jazz is just 21-18-1 in hitting the over while Houston is 18-19, but on no rest, the Rockets are 1-4 in hitting the over . Meanwhile, Utah is currently playing at a pace of 101.4 which ranks 15th while Houston ranks 14th with a pace of 101.8. As well, in the two games these two teams have played this season, the games went for a combined 216 PPG. In Utah’s last 10 games, the games are averaging 237 PPG – but as we saw this season, the games are slower against Houston who also defends them well. The Rockets’ last 10 games, meanwhile, went for a combined 222.9 PPG.
Take the under as Houston can defend Utah decently well and will slow down the pace on the back-to-back.
Prediction: Under
Written By
Cole Shelton, “Cole Shelton”
Cole Shelton graduated from Sheridan College in 2017 and while he was there, began enamored with sports betting. He grew up watching all the major sports in NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL and has since begun covering MMA as well. Cole has a proven track record as a winning bettor for past sites before joining SaltStat. He currently covers MMA at BJPENN among other sites and all sports at CBC Sports in Canada along with his work at SaltStat.
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