The Charlotte Hornets will travel to Vivint Smart Home Arena to take on the Utah Jazz. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Jan. 27 and can be seen on RT and FxS.
The Jazz are expecting a better outcome after their 95-92 loss to the Pistons on Monday. Despite the loss, Rudy Gobert earned his sixth double-double this season with 17 points and 17 rebounds. The Hornets, meanwhile, are coming off a 129-128 win against the Kings on Monday. Troy Daniels led the team in scoring by registering 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
Gobert and Gordon Hayward have been better than usual over the last five games for the Jazz. During that stretch, Gobert has averaged 14.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 2.6 blocks, while Hayward has recorded 24.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers a game. Kemba Walker has upped his play for the Hornets. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 32.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers.
Expect this one to be a clinic on boxing out, as two of the NBA’s top rebounding teams face off. Utah is among the league’s best on the offensive glass, ranking third in offensive rebound percentage at 26.6%. Meanwhile, Charlotte ranks second in the NBA at corralling defensive boards with a defensive rebound percentage of 79.5%.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Hornets winning the first matchup 124-119. In the victory, Walker led all scorers on the team with 52 points.
The Jazz are a five-point favorite against Charlotte and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 191 points. The Jazz come into this game 19-25 Straight Up (SU) and 22-21-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 9-8 SU and 9-7-1 ATS against the Eastern Conference.
As for their opponent, the Hornets have a record of 22-22-1 ATS and 22-23 SU. Against the Western Conference, Charlotte is 9-11 SU and 10-10 ATS. The Hornets convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .794. The Hornets are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking fifth in the NBA at 1.78.
Charlotte beat Utah in their most recent meeting this season, but the win was not enough to overtake Utah in the most recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 2-8 SU over the last 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Jazz hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Uta, ATS Winner – Cha, O/U – Under
Notes
Utah is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Utah’s last 6 games.
Utah is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 6 games at home.
Utah is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing Charlotte.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Utah’s last 6 games when playing Charlotte.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte.
Utah is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte’s last 5 games when playing on the road against Utah.
Charlotte averages 102.4 points per game (ranked 10th). However, Utah has allowed an average of just 97.4 points per game (ranked fifth).
Charlotte puts up 101.3 points per away game, ranking 10th in the league. Utah allows just 95.5 points per home game (ranked second).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz are a solid 18-7. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Charlotte Hornets have a subpar record of 5-18.
The Utah Jazz have an abysmal 1-18 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Charlotte Hornets are 17-5 when they hit triple digits.
The Hornets have a defensive rating of 102.5 (ranked 13th). The Jazz rank 11th for their offensive rating of 103.8.
With 93.9 possessions and 1.038 points per possession, the Utah Jazz perform worse on both metrics than the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte averages 98.4 possessions and 1.041 points per possession.
Utah has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.4%. Charlotte is an underachieving 8-13 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Utah makes an average of 18.3 assists per game (ranked 30th). Charlotte ranks higher in assists with 21.3 (ranked 20th).
The Utah Jazz average 5.0 blocks per game for a rank of 14th. The Charlotte Hornets rank higher (10th), earning 5.2 blocks each contest.
The Jazz and the Hornets are well matched when it comes to rebounding. Utah is ranked seventh in offensive rebounding, and Charlotte is also ranked seventh in defensive rebounding.
Utah averages 7.9 steals per game. Charlotte is 9-11 when allowing at least 7 steals.
