The Utah Jazz (28-31) travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors (39-19) in a game that will likely be low scoring. Action starts at 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2 and will air on RT, TSN and C+D.
The Raptors lost to the Pistons 114-101 on Sunday. Terrence Ross finished with 27 points to lead the game. The Jazz, meanwhile, are coming off a 100-95 loss to the Celtics on Monday. Utah still lost despite the best efforts of Trey Lyles, who recorded his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry has been playing at a high level as of late for the Raptors, averaging 26.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
Half-court execution will be at a premium as the Raptors rank 28th in the league in possessions per game (95.1), while the Jazz are 30th (94.4).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Jazz won the first game 93-89. Derrick Favors put up a double-double in the victory with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Raptors are looking to build on their records of 39-18 Straight Up (SU) and 31-25-1 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 3-7 ATS. The Raptors are a phenomenal shooting team from three-point range with a .368 three-point field goal percentage, one of the highest marks in the NBA. Transitioning to the Toronto defense, it’s been a struggle for opposing teams to score on the Raptors. The 97.9 points that Toronto’s defense allows per game makes them the fifth-ranked defense in the league. Toronto has given up very few turnovers with only an average of 12.3 per game.
As for their opponent, Utah has a SU record of 28-31 and an ATS record of 28-30-1. Against the Eastern Conference, Utah is 28-31 SU and 28-30-1 ATS. Utah has been playing better lately, averaging 106.9 PPG, significantly more than their season average of 98.0.
The Jazz’s win over Toronto in their last clash moved the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. The Raptors lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tor
Notes
While Utah puts up an average of just 98.0 points per game (ranked 26th), Toronto ranks fifth in points allowed, giving up 97.9 points per game.
Utah ranks 24th in points per away game with 97.5 points, while Toronto ranks third in points allowed at home with 96.7.
Utah has a solid 25-9 record when it allows under 100 points this season. Toronto is 11-8 when it scores under 100.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Jazz are just 3-22 this season. Toronto is a winning 28-11 when registering triple digits.
The Jazz have an offensive rating of 103.9 (ranked 14th), while the Raptors rank 12th for their defensive rating of 102.9.
Toronto has an average field goal percentage of 45.0%. Utah is an abysmal 4-24 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Toronto Raptors and the Utah Jazz both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Toronto is 15th and 11th in the league for FG% and EFF% respectively, while Utah is 19th and 15th in these categories.
Toronto makes an average of 18.6 assists per game (ranked 28th), while Utah makes 18.5 assists per game (ranked 29th).
The Toronto Raptors rebound 43.0 times per game and are ranked 18th. Ranked 21st, the Utah Jazz rebound 42.8 times per game.
The Utah Jazz rank eighth in offensive rebounding, while the Toronto Raptors rank 20th in defensive rebounding.
On average, the Jazz force a turnover rate of 14.4%. When the Raptors turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has an outstanding 15-5 record.
