The Phoenix Suns welcome the Utah Jazz to the US Airways Center. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Saturday, Apr. 4 and can be seen on ROOT-NW and FSN-AZ.
The Suns are are hoping for a better outcome after their 107-106 loss to the Warriors on Thursday. Despite the loss, Eric Bledsoe earned his 12th double-double this season with 18 points and 11 assists. The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off a 98-84 win against the Nuggets on Wednesday. Rudy Gobert claimed his 22nd double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Gobert has been hot for the Jazz, averaging 14.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 blocks over the past five games.
It will be a showdown of conflicting tempos, as the fast-paced Suns (ranked second in the NBA in possessions per game) will look to push the slow-paced Jazz (30th in possessions per game).
Both teams have won a game in the season series. The Suns had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 100-93 win. Marcus Morris finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds.
The odds for Phoenix and Utah are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Suns have gone 38-38 Straight Up (SU) and 38-35-3 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 20-27 SU and 19-25-3 ATS against the Western Conference. The Suns have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 94.7 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 103.5 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Jazz have 34-41 SU and 41-33-1 ATS records. Against the Western Conference, Utah is 19-26 SU and 25-19-1 ATS. The Jazz have controlled the offensive glass with an average of 12.0 per game, fourth in the league.
The Suns’ win over Utah in their last game wasn’t enough for them to overtake the Jazz in the recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 4-6 SU over the most recent 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Jazz hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-3-1. Phoenix and Utah both held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once over the last 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – UTA, ATS Winner – UTA
Notes
Utah ranks 27th in points per game with 94.8, while Phoenix ranks 26th in points allowed with an average of 103.6 given up.
Utah ranks 27th in points per away game with 93.7 points, while Phoenix ranks 24th in points allowed at home with 101.8.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz are a solid 31-15. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Phoenix Suns have an abysmal record of 6-22.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Jazz are just 3-26 this season. Phoenix is a solid 32-16 when registering triple digits.
The Suns have a defensive rating of 103.2 (ranked 16th), while the Jazz rank 15th for their offensive rating of 102.5.
The Phoenix Suns average a field goal percentage of 45.4% this season. The Utah Jazz have a subpar record of 6-30 when opponents have a FG% of 45.4% or greater.
On average, the Phoenix Suns attempt 25.3 three point field goals per game and the Utah Jazz attempt 21.5 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Phoenix has a 20-26 record and Utah has a 12-10 record.
The Phoenix Suns rank 27th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.39. The Utah Jazz have a higher A/TO (1.41), ranking 26th.
The Suns rank 17th in rebounds per game with 43.6, while the Jazz rank 13th with 43.8 per game.
The Utah Jazz are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked fourth). The Phoenix Suns are in the top half of NBA teams in defensive rebounding (ranked 12th).
Phoenix ranks 10th in forced turnovers with an average rate of 15.0%. Utah has a 15-16 record when they suffer a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
