Utah vs PDX NBA Betting Odds
The Portland Trail Blazers are the talk of the NBA, and for good reason. They’re 16-3 on the season, and they’re coming off of three straight impressive wins over the Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder. [ad-4468020]
Utah (4-16) @ Portland (16-3)
Friday, Dec. 6 10:00 PM ET @ Moda Center
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The Utah Jazz, on the other hand, have struggled all year, which is by design, as they’re clearly rebuilding (tanking) and preparing for the 2014 draft.
Utah
The reality of the Utah Jazz is this: They have a young, exciting roster that can be a lot of fun to watch—they just don’t have a chance of competing this season.
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On the year, the Jazz are just 28th in points per game. They’re scoring 91.2 points per contest, which is far fewer than what they’re allowing (100.1). Against Portland, the objective has to be defending the three-point line. The Blazers have become one of the most prominent long-distance teams in the NBA, and stopping that attack will do wonders for slowing down one of the hottest offenses in The Association.
Conversely, Utah must do what it can to score from the outside as well. One of Portland’s specialties this season has been defending the three-point line, and the Jazz are shooting just 32.3 percent from downtown.
Portland
The Trail Blazers have a legitimate MVP candidate in LaMarcus Aldridge, and he showed that with 38 points and 13 rebounds against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Against Utah, the Blazers should look for Aldridge to attack the paint, even though his game is predominantly played in the midrange. Utah is just 28th in the league in blocks, while the Blazers are second when it comes to actually getting blocked.
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On the season, Portland is averaging 105 points per contest while allowing just 99.9 to its opponents. It is spreading the wealth and chasing loose balls, as evidenced by the fact that it is 10th in assists and eighth in rebounds.
Statistics aside, the one thing that could slow this team down is a bit of a hangover. It is coming off of three straight wins that have given it momentum, and with the league officially watching, the Blazers will be getting everybody’s best shots.
In fact, the only team that has truly given the Blazers problems this season is the Phoenix Suns. Despite being a long shot to make the playoffs, Phoenix has defeated the Blazers twice and lost by one during their other meeting. We’ve seen Portland struggle to keep leads, and that could be a problem once again if it doesn’t keep its head on straight.
Luckily for fans in Rip City, the players are still approaching each and every game with the same mentality. Wesley Matthews was quoted saying “we’re not a cool team…we’ve got dogs.”
They don’t consider themselves a lock, and they know they have to work when it comes to winning night in and night out.
Expect the Blazers to come out motivated yet again, and expect them to pick up their fourth win in a row.
Prediction: Portland 103 – Utah 91
