
For those that haven’t been paying attention, Utah (22-20 straight up, 26-16 against the spread) has been absolutely on fire over the past month after finally getting all of its best players healthy at the same time.
As of early this morning, most books had the Jazz installed as three or 3.5-point home underdogs for tonight’s home game vs. Oklahoma City. They were +130 to +140 on the money line.
Utah has won six games in a row both SU and ATS, including five wins by margins of 11 points or more. All six victories have been by at least seven points, including Monday’s 132-105 win over Indiana as a seven-point home ‘chalk.’
The Jazz led 33-26 at the end of the first quarter, 64-50 at halftime and 105-79 heading into the final stanza. Lauri Markkanen was the catalyst with 32 points, 10 rebounds and three assists compared to only one turnover.
He drained 10-of-15 field-goal attempts, 10-of-10 free throws and 2-of-4 launches from 3-point land. Collin Sexton added 30 points and five assists compared to just one turnover.
With last night’s home game vs. Golden St. cancelled due to the tragic death of a Warriors’ assistant coach, Utah has had an extra day of rest and preparation. That’s coming off the blowout win over the Pacers when Markkanen’s 28-plus minutes of playing time was a team-high.
The Jazz are 12-2 both SU and ATS in their last 14 games and 15-3 both SU and ATS in their last 18 contests.
Utah is 15-5 SU and 16-4 ATS at home, while OKC (27-13 SU, 26-14 ATS) is 11-8 SU and 10-9 ATS in 19 road assignments.
The Thunder is playing its third game in four days after losing 128-117 at the Clippers on Tuesday and dropping a 112-105 decision at the Lakers on Monday.
Let’s keep riding the Jazz, who are in revenge mode here after losing at OKC earlier this year when they were without their leading scorer, Markkanen (24.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocked shots per game), and starting power forward John Collins (13.8 PPG & 7.7 RPG).
PREDICTION: Let’s risk one unit on Utah +3.5 vs. OKC and 0.25 units on the Jazz at +140 on the money line.