If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Handicapper: Team Del Genio League: NBA Competition: Utah Jazz vs San Antonio Spurs Time: Wednesday, March 29, 08:10 pm ET Bet Type: Point Spread Pick: Utah Jazz -4 (-105) (DraftKings) Analysis: Our 25* NBA Western Conference Game of the Month is with Utah minus the points versus San Antonio at 8:10 pm et. The Utah Jazz were expected to tank this season to put themselves in a better position to win the NBA draft lottery and earn the right to select the generational talent Victor Wembanyama. Yet instead, a roster of veteran castoffs and young players worked hard every night for first-year head coach Will Hardy. Despite being sellers at the trade deadline, the Jazz are still within striking distance of tenth place in the Western Conference and the play-in game to reach the eight-team playoffs. While currently in 12th place in the conference, they are only 1 1/2 games behind Oklahoma City and Dallas who are tied for tenth place going into today’s games. Utah has lost four games in a row coming into this game after a 117-103 loss to Phoenix. But after a bad loss to Portland, the Jazz have played difficult opponents at Sacramento and home against Milwaukee before getting a Suns team facing their own sense of urgency. With their 35-40 record, getting more ping pong balls for the Wembanyama lottery is no longer a realistic alternative. Getting this group playoff experience is the goal of this team now, and rookies Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji continue to improve as they grow into leadership roles with this team alongside Lauri Markkinen. Utah should play better tonight since they have covered the point spread in six of their last eight games after losing their previous game at home by ten or more points. They have covered the point spread in twelve of their last fourteen games on the road after losing four or five of their last six games. Although the Jazz are 13-24 on the road, they have covered the point spread in five straight games away from home. San Antonio, on the other hand, is fully committed to tanking at this point of their season. After a surprising start when they won five of their first seven games, the Spurs have only won seven times in their last twenty-two games with six losses in their last seven games. They are on a four-game losing streak with no result being closer than 12 points after a 137-93 setback in Boston as a 16.5-point underdog on Sunday. At this point of the season, head coach Gregg Popovich is not getting much out of his team after embarrassing losses like this. San Antonio has covered the point spread only four times in their last fifteen games following a loss by ten or more points, and they have covered the point spread just once in their last ten games after losing three or more games in a row by ten or more points. The Celtics shot 57.1% from the field against them, making it the fourth straight game where they allowed their opponent to shoot 52% or better against them. The Spurs have covered the point spread in six of their last twenty-one games after playing a game where they allowed their opponent to shoot 55% or better from the field. They have covered the point spread in three of their last fourteen games after playing a game where they allowed 125 or more points. San Antonio is allowing 122.5 points per game on 50.7% shooting, and their last five opponents are averaging 128.0 points per game on 54.2% shooting. The Spurs' scoring attack has cratered as well. They are averaging 112.0 points per game on 46.4% shooting yet they have only managed 104.2 points per game on 43.2% shooting in their last five games. They come back home to San Antonio where they are 13-24 this season with an average losing margin of 5.4 points per game. They have covered the point spread twice in their last eight games at home, and they have covered the point spread once in their last five games at home against teams with a losing road record. Injuries to Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson have not helped the Spurs’ cause this season. With both those players out indefinitely and a list of players questionable for tonight, San Antonio lacks the talent to keep up with a hard-working Jazz team, even if they were so inclined to try to keep on on the scoreboard. Play Utah minus the points. Good luck - Team Del Genio.
Comment