Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Picks and Predictions Dec 29
Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz betting preview for Wednesday, December 29. At the time of posting, the Jazz are holding steady as a 7-point road favorite in Portland, with the total dropping slightly to 228.5 points.
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| Wed, Dec 29 | NBA Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Point Spread: | Utah Jazz -7 at Portland Trail Blazers |
| Total: | 228.5 Points |
| Game Time: | 10:10pm ET / 7:10pm PT |
| Arena: | Moda Center in Portland |
| TV: | Root Sports |
Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Analysis
The Jazz will be without Donavan Mitchell as the star is out with a back strain, and they will travel to Portland to take on the Trailblazers who will be without Jusuf Nurkic who is on the protocol list, and while Mitchell is a big loss on the offensive end, I can make the case that the loss of Nurkic has a bigger impact on his team than the loss of Mitchell does.
The Jazz are -7 point road favorites and the books have set a high total in this game at 228 so lets dive in and find a way to boost our bankroll tonight.
The Trailblazers are having a nightmare season as they don’t have an identity or direction right now, and that’s lead to 12 losses in their last 15 games. I mentioned that I can make the case that Nurkic being out has a bigger impact for Portland than Mitchell being out does for Utah, and I do believe that. Portland does not have a great defense with Nurkic in the game and they are 7th worst against Centers, but we saw what the bigs can do against Portland with no inside presence last game against Dallas.
Porzingis went for 34-9-5, and their other big man Dwight Powell had a season high of 22 points. Those two combined to go 21-32 from the field in a route of Portland, so expect big things from Rudy Gobert tonight. Portland is the worst ATS team in the league with a 12-21 record, and they are 3-7 in their last 10 home games. Damian Lillard has been a scoring machine the last four games, but it’s only resulted in a 2-2 record, and both wins were with Nurkic in the lineup.
The Jazz continue to roll through the regular season as they are 24-9 and have won four straight including Monday’s win against the Spurs without Donavan Mitchell. The final score ended up being closer than the game actually was as San Antonio made a run late in what was mostly garbage time. Their depth was on full display as they had six players score 12 or more points. The Jazz are around .500 ATS this season, and have won four straight but they are 0-4 ATS in all four of those games.
I find no value in the spread in this game as Utah is struggling to win by big margins, but I want no part of this Trailblazers team right now.
I’ll recommend the over in this game, but if I’m being honest I believe there are better wagers on the board tonight. Portland won’t be able to defend the Jazz tonight, especially Gobert, but Utah is a bottom 10 team defending guards so Lillard should be able to score at will.
The number of 228 is high, but there probably won’t be much defense in this game so a sprinkle on the over is my play, but like I mentioned earlier…you can find better value on the board in other games tonight.
OFFICIAL PLAY: Over 228.5 Points
Interested in placing a bet on tonight’s Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.
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Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Preview from GoldSheet
Still no G CJ McCollum, C Jusuf Nurkic or PG Dennis Smith Jr. for Portland in this game, and both Robert Covington and Ben McLemore are day-to-day all due to the virus. On the other hand, Utah could be without star G Donovan Mitchell who tweaked his back on Christmas Day vs. Dallas. The Jazz managed to rally and win at San Antonio without Mitchell, but the Jazz have now failed to cover 6 straight, as the lines have been sticky.
Portland has been bleeding bettors’ money since Halloween, sporting a 9-18-1 spread mark since trick-or-treating against the Hornets. Blazer G Damian Lillard has scored 32 ppg and shot 46% in the last 5 games, while F Norman Powell has contributed 20 ppg in that period, but the Blazers could be seriously short on “bigs” which presents a problem facing Jazz Cs Rudy Gobert (15 rpg) and Hassan Whiteside (7 rpg), who lead a Utah side leading the league in rebound percentage on the season. Portland has won and covered 7 of last 10 against Utah at the Moda Center. Big night for Dame?
NBA Stat Sheet
Each day, WagerTalk handicapper Ralph Michaels puts together his NBA Stat Sheet, which offers a head-to-head comparison for how teams are performing in a number of key areas heading into a game. Check out Wednesday’s sheet, with notes on tonight’s Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz contest.
NBA Tip-Off Show
Join Joe Raineri and a rotating panel of guests for the NBA Tip-Off Show at 4:15pm ET / 1:15pm PT as we discuss tonight’s marquee games. Stay up-to-date on the latest NBA news, stats, analysis, and predictions with our panel of professional handicappers as they preview tonight’s NBA action, including this Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz clash, from a betting perspective.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
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