NBA
10:00pm Eastern Time
Odds: Los Angeles Lakers +12
Odds: Utah Jazz -12
Total: Over/ Under 225.5
Both teams are coming into this game on the struggle bus, over their last 10 games the Lakers are just 3-7 while Utah’s 4-6. LeBron may be in line to win the scoring title but this Lakers team has been playing so poorly the last couple of months that as of right now they won’t even make the play in tournament. It’s been an absolute nightmare on defense for LA all season long as they rank 27th in points allowed per game (114.5) but they’ve been exceptionally poor over their L10 games as they’re allowing 122.7 PPG. That’s 5 points per game higher than the 30th ranked defense in the league. To put that into perspective if the Lakers allowed 5 points LESS per game on the year they would have the 14th ranked defense instead of 27th… It’s been ugly. They’re just as bad ATS (5-12 L17) and even worse ATS on the road (2-8 L10). The Lakers just got destroyed by Dallas, letting up 128 points in that game and when the Lakers get beat down they stay down. Coming off games in which they allowed more than 125 points they’re just 7-20 ATS L27. This is just the spot Utah needs to get the ball rolling again. 5 of Utah’s 6 losses in their L10 games came during a brutal road stretch that started with them traveling all the way across the country to the East Coast. They’ve simply failed to close out a few games that they were winning going into the 4th quarter. Long road trips that cause fatigue will do that. Fortunately Utah is coming off a day’s rest and they return home for this one where they’ve been impressive ATS recently, they’re 9-2 L11 home games and 7-0 L7 home games vs teams with a losing record. They’ve also won over 70% of their home games which ranks 5th in the NBA. They have outstanding offense to thank for that, at home Utah averages the 2nd most PPG (116.3) in the entire NBA and on the season the Jazz still rank in the top 10 defensively. Facing the worst defense in the league right now at Home is exactly what the doctor ordered.
FREE PICK: Utah Jazz -12
