Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon Sport
Jazz vs Suns: A derby in the Mid-West
The Utah Jazz are visiting the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center on Thursday night.
The Jazz are trying to get in the top half of the conference
The Utah Jazz are tenth in the Western Conference with a 26-26 record. After losing three consecutive games, the Jazz beat two of the best teams in the league, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Milwaukee Bucks. Lauri Markkanen was excellent against the Thunder, with 33 points and 11 rebounds. The finish forward leads the Jazz with 23.8 points and 8.6 rebounds this season. Utah is third in the league with 82.4% shooting from the free throw line and 11th with 117.9 points per game.
The Suns have won the last two games
The Phoenix Suns are fifth in the Western Conference with a 30-21 record. They have won seven of the last 10 games and are coming off back-to-back wins over Washington and Milwaukee. The Suns are third in the league, shooting 49.8% from the field, and seventh with 37.8% from three-point territory. Kevin Durant leads the team with 28.3 points per game.
Betting Trends
These two teams have gone over the total point line in 8 of their last 12 matchups and in 5 of the last 6 played in Phoenix. The Jazz have played over in 7 of their last 10 games and in 5 of their last 7 road games.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Phoenix Suns are starting to look like a real playoff contender. Bradley Beal’s injury is in the past, and now Phoenix’s offense is pretty much unstoppable. The Suns have won the last five games against the Jazz, but Utah has played very well this week against the top teams in the league. Both teams are completely offensively oriented, and this will be a high-paced game with much outside shooting. The total point line is set at 243.5 for this game, which is pretty high, but given the fact that they went over 268 on average in the last two matchups, picking the over option is the right choice for this game.
10 no sweat bets up to $1000 total
