NBA Odds: Jazz (even)
The San Antonio Spurs will travel to EnergySolutions Arena to square off against the Utah Jazz. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Monday, Feb. 23 and will air on FSN-SW and ROOT-NW.
The Jazz were victorious over the Trail Blazers 92-76 on Friday. Gordon Hayward led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting. The Spurs, meanwhile, are coming off a 110-99 loss to the Warriors on Friday. Aron Baynes scored 12 points and recorded 10 rebounds earning his fourth double-double of the season.
Hayward has been playing at a high level as of late for the Jazz, averaging 23.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers over the last five games.
The battle on the backboards could prove decisive, pitting strength against strength. Utah is among the league’s elite on the offensive glass, ranking first in offensive rebound percentage at 28.9%. Meanwhile, the Spurs rank fourth in the NBA at corralling defensive rebounds with a defensive rebound percentage of 77.6%.
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Spurs had the upper hand in the most recent game, a blowout 89-69 win. Rudy Gobert had a double-double in the defeat with 13 points and 18 rebounds.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is presently unavailable. The Jazz enter the game with records of 20-34 Straight Up (SU) and 29-24-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 11-21 SU and 17-14-1 ATS versus the Western Conference.
On the other side, San Antonio has a SU record of 34-21 and an ATS record of 23-30-2. Most recently, San Antonio is a meager 2-8 ATS over the last 10 games. The Spurs are one of the top defensive teams on the road, essentially shutting down opponents to the tune of 96.3 points allowed per away game. San Antonio’s three-point defense is one of the top in the league, with opponents making only 7.0 shots from the three-point line per game.
San Antonio beat Utah in their most recent meeting this season, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 8-2. The Jazz hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, San Antonio held the edge in all three of these categories four times in the last 10 meetings. Utah never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA, ATS Winner – SA
Notes
San Antonio ranks 12th in points per game with 100.9, while Utah ranks ninth in points allowed with an average of 97.7 given up.
San Antonio ranks 18th in points per away game with 97.6 points, while Utah ranks 10th in points allowed at home with 96.8.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the San Antonio Spurs are a formidable 24-8. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz have a subpar record of 7-26.
San Antonio is 10-13 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Jazz have a winning 13-8 record when hitting triple digits.
The Jazz have a defensive rating of 105.4 (ranked 26th), while the Spurs rank 12th for their offensive rating of 103.8.
San Antonio has an average field goal percentage of 45.6%. Utah is an abysmal 5-26 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
In comparison to the rest of the league, the Utah Jazz see similar results in both field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage, ranking 15th for both metrics. The San Antonio Spurs also rank the same for both FG% and EFF%, coming in at 11th.
The San Antonio Spurs rank fourth in assists per game, making an average of 24.5. The Utah Jazz are among the worst in the league with 20.2 assists per game (ranked 28th).
The Utah Jazz average 5.9 blocks per game for a rank of sixth. The San Antonio Spurs rank lower (eighth), earning 5.3 blocks each game.
Utah is ranked ninth when it comes to offensive rebounding. San Antonio ranks seventh in defensive rebounds.
The San Antonio Spurs average 7.6 steals per game. When giving up 7 or more steals, the Utah Jazz have a losing record (12-28) this season.
