NBA Odds: Jazz (even)
The Milwaukee Bucks will travel to EnergySolutions Arena to play the Utah Jazz. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 28 and will air on FSN-WI and ROOT-NW.
The Jazz lost a tough one against the Lakers 100-97 on Wednesday. Rudy Gobert recorded 16 points and 14 rebounds, earning his 10th double-double of the year. The Bucks, meanwhile, are coming off a 104-88 win over the 76ers on Wednesday. John Henson led the game in scoring with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting.
Utah could own the offensive glass in this matchup, as they rank first in the NBA in offensive rebound percentage at 28.9%. Conversely, the Bucks are 29th in the league on the defensive backboards with a defensive rebound percentage of 72.0%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Jazz won the first game 101-99. Enes Kanter put up 23 points and 16 rebounds.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable at the moment. The Jazz are looking to improve on their records of 21-35 Straight Up (SU) and 30-25-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 9-13 SU and 12-10 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. Expect Utah to have lots of opportunities at the line against the Bucks, who are one of the worst fouling teams in the league with an average of 22.2 fouls per game.
Across the court, the Bucks head into the game with records of 35-22 ATS and 32-25 SU. Milwaukee managed to go 7-3 SU over the last 10 games, while only going 3-7 ATS during the same amount of time. The Bucks are shooting lights out so far, with a .464 field-goal percentage that ranks fifth in the NBA. Milwaukee’s defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking second in the NBA with only 96.5 points allowed per game. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bucks, who are the third-best team in the league in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .431. They average 9.6 steals per game, good for third in the league. Milwaukee makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking second in points off turnovers with an average of 19.2 per game.
Utah beat Milwaukee in their most recent meeting this season, moving its SU record against the Bucks to 7-3 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, the Jazz lead the matchup ATS with a record of 8-2. Both Utah and Milwaukee have led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once over the last 10.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIL, ATS Winner – MIL
Notes
On average, Milwaukee puts up 98.4 points per game (ranked 20th), while Utah gives up 97.5 points per game (ranked eighth).
Milwaukee puts up an average of 98.5 points per away game (ranked 15th), while Utah allows 96.4 points per home game (ranked eighth).
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Milwaukee Bucks are a stellar 24-8. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Utah Jazz have an underachieving record of 8-27.
The Milwaukee Bucks have a poor 8-17 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Utah Jazz are 13-8 when they hit the century mark.
The Jazz have a defensive rating of 105.0 (ranked 25th), while the Bucks rank 22nd for their offensive rating of 101.0.
The Milwaukee Bucks have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking fifth in the league with a FG% of 46.4%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Utah Jazz have an abysmal 3-24 record.
The Utah Jazz average 21.0 three point attempts per game and are 7-8 when attempting at least 25 in a game. The Milwaukee Bucks average 18.7 attempts and have a winning record (4-1) when attempting 25 or more.
The Utah Jazz rank 26th with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.43. The Milwaukee Bucks have a higher A/TO (1.49), ranking 21st.
The Milwaukee Bucks are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league with just 41.3 per game. Ranked 16th, the Utah Jazz average 43.2 rebounds.
The Milwaukee Bucks rank 24th in offensive rebounding, while the Utah Jazz also rank 24th in defensive rebounds.
Milwaukee is one of the top teams in forced turnovers, with opponents averaging a TOV% of 16.9% (ranked first). Utah has a subpar record of 4-12 SU this season when its TOV% reaches 16.9% or greater.
