The Northwest Division is there for the taking, as all teams already won at least 10 games, but none created much separation. The Oklahoma City are at it’s bottom as the only team that failed to reach .500 at this point, so they have some extra work to do to catch up with the rest. They’ll have a good opportunity to pull closer as they host a tired Utah Jazz team on Tuesday in an attempt to pull even at one-apiece in the season series.
Jazz at Thunder
Spread: TBR at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: TBR
Utah wins fifth game in a row behind newly found offense
Look no further than the Utah Jazz when you try to explain the next-man-up philosophy to someone not familiar with this term. Playing without their best defensive player, best scorer, and best late-game shot creator, the Jazz reached for the help of their 12th and the 13th guy in the roster, and impressed in the last two weeks. The Friday’s 114-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans was the fifth in a row, and probably the least impressive one, as they blew out all of their previous challengers.
Rookie guard Donovan Mitchell scored a career-high 41 points on 13-of-25 shots, scoring 6 threes in the process. A forgotten man, reserve shooting guard Alec Burks was terrific for the second straight game, scoring 24 points from the bench. Favors turned back the clock once again, overcoming knee pain to finish with 18 points on nine field goal attempts, along with 11 boards and five dimes. The Jazz won despite another underwhelming performance of Ricky Rubio, who was scoreless, missing all 7 shots, despite trailing at the half by 12 and despite the New Orleans Pelicans hitting exactly half of their 30 three-point attempts. The Jazz scored 71 points in the second half alone as the Jazz were 14-of-21 from the floor in the third quarter. They finished with 49.8 percent shooting and would not be stopped after gaining momentum, especially as the Pelicans lost Anthony Davis to a leg/groin injury early in the fourth.
Rudy Gobert, Robert Hood and backup point Raul Neto are all questionable to return on Monday against the Wizards, in the first game of a back-to-back set that will also require a trip to OKC tomorrow. The Jazz have impressed without the injured players, but would be a force to be reckoned with should the first two players on the report return to play for this game. Joe Johnson is still in the recovery.
Place: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 5th, 2017. 8:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: Fox Sports Oklahoma, ATTS-RM
The Thunder barely survive against Spurs reserves
The Thunder won for the second consecutive game, but this one was of a much less impressive variety, as they pulled out a 90-87 victory over severely depleted Spurs roster – the visitors came to play without Aldridge, Parker, Ginobili, Gay and the long-absent star Leonard, and also lost starter Kyle Anderson to a knee sprain in the first half. The Thunder still had to watch last-second tying attempts bounce off the rim to safety to avoid playing overtime.
Like in the previous win over the T-Wolves, the best Thunder player was not from the star trio, but center Steven Adams. New Zealander big man double-doubled with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and was a force on the defensive end. Westbrook had a triple-double, but one of the least impressive ones. He scored 22 points on 9-of-22 shooting (and 2-of-6 from the charity stripe), and had 10 rebounds and 10 assists to go with 7 turnovers. Still, it was a great performance compared to the other two most prominent Thunder players – George was 2-of-17 and had 6 turnovers in his worst game, not only in OKC uni, and Anthony scored just 9 points. Two wings combined to miss eight of their ten attempts from beyond the three-point line. The Thunder were 42.5 percent from the field, hit 6-of-22 triples and a terrible 10-of-21 from the free throw line. They also had 20 turnovers and trailed for half of the fourth quarter against a team missing their alpha, beta, and a few more Greek letters representing top players. Latvian deep rotation guy Davis Bertans looked like an All-Star instead of actual Oklahoma City All-Stars, finishing with 16 points, 4 treys, 5 blocks and 4 rebounds coming in off the bench for the Spurs. Luckily for the Thunder, only two other San Antonio players scored in double digits, so they walked away with a victory.
There are no injuries to report for the Thunder, as they wrap up three-game home stand against another depleted Western Conference foe.
Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder Game Trends & Prediction
Not counting the game played tonight, the Jazz have gone 13-10 against the spread, and almost all the success comes from home games. When on the road, they covered just three times in nine tries. They’ve also covered in five consecutive games, all in an impressive manner. The away games aren’t their forte, mostly because they give up too many points. It also resulted in 5-3 over/under record in away games, while there’s not much to read from Utah overall record of 11-11. They won and covered in the first game versus the Thunder. However, the Jazz are 2-9-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder failed to cover in their last five games, and seven of their last eight. No matter whom they play, they find new ways to underachieve and have accumulated a 8-14 record against the spread this season. They are 6-5 at home. OKC is also a clear under team, going 8-14 against the total points lines, with a perfect 4-7/4-7 split between the home and away games.
Admi-Rank: The Jazz have responded to their troubles extremely well, and had some convincing wins to return to the previous heights. The Thunder keep disappointing even in wins, so they just can’t get to this top-level group of teams they had hoped to be a part of.
I’m not a big fan of the Thunder, but I always leave my emotions aside when it comes to making money. Still, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when they get my trust so many times and repeatedly find new lows. As much as they fail the expectations, the Jazz are crushing them. They play the right way, and are warriors with a smart coach. The latest report on tonight’s game player statuses has Gobert as probable to return, but with restrictions, while Hood won’t play. They still remain in doubt for the game against the Thunder.
The books aren’t risking it, so there are no odds early on. We’ll have to check back later, probably on the game day, but don’t fret, I got you covered. Here are the fair number you can go after any early offer, for multiple situations:
(Gobert, Hood playing) – OKC -2.5 and over/under 197.5 points
(Gobert playing, Hood out) – OKC -3.5 and over/under 196.5 points
(Gobert, Hood out) – OKC -4.5 and over/under 199 points
My Pick: (odds yet to be released)
Total: (odds yet to be released)
