Western Conference Northwest Division rivals face off as the Jazz travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets.
The Jazz lead the all time series 113-80, and the 2 teams have split their last 10 head to head matchups.
The Jazz are coming off a 125-109 win over the Mavericks at home on Saturday. On Tuesday (2/12) they lost at Golden State 115-108, and last Friday (2/22) they lost at Oklahoma City 148-147.
The Nuggets are coming off a 121-112 win over the Thunder at home on Tuesday.
Last Friday (2/22) they beat the Mavericks 114-104 on the road, and on Sunday (2/24) they beat the Clippers 123-96 at home.
On the season, the Jazz are 31-26-2 ATS, 15-14-1 ATS on the road, and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games. On the other side, the Nuggets are 33-27 ATS, 22-9 ATS at home, and 6-4 ATS in their last 10 games.
Bovada has the Nuggets as 6 point favourites with an O/U total of 224.
The Nuggets average 112.4 PPG, 46.8 RPG, 12.2 ORPG, 27.7 APG, 7.9 SPG, 4.5 BPG, and 13.7 TPG. As a team they shoot 47.1% from the field, 75.3% from the free throw line, and 35.7% from 3 point range. Defensively they hold teams to 106.9 PPG, 41.8 RPG, 45.7% shooting from the field, 34.1% shooting from 3 point range.
Nikola Jokic leads the way with 20.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.8 ORPG, 7.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 0.6 BPG while shooting 50.3% from the field, 84.4% from the free throw line, and 31.6% from 3 point range. Jamal Murray puts up 18.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 5.0 APG, and 0.8 SPG while shooting 43.1/84.0/37.0. Gary Harris chips in 14.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.6 APG, and 1.0 SPG. Paul Millsap (12.5 PPG/7.1 RPG/1.3 SPG/0.9 BPG), Will Barton (12.0 PPG/4.3 RPG/3.5 APG/36.0% from 3), Malik Beasley (11.9 PPG/2.5 RPG/0.7 SPG/43.8% from 3), and Isaiah Thomas (11.3 PPG/2.3 APG/40.0% from 3) contribute as well.
Key Injuries
F Trey Lyles (hamstring) – out
F Michael Porter Jr. (back) – out
Utah averages 110.1 PPG, 45.7 RPG, 9.8 ORPG, 25.2 APG, 8.2 SPG, 5.6 BPG, and 15.3 TPG. As a team they shoot 46.2% from the field, 73.8% from the free throw line, and 34.8% from 3 point range. Defensively they hold teams to 106.7 PPG, 42.6 RPG, 45.6% shooting from the field, and 36.0% shooting from 3 point range.
Donovan Mitchell leads the Jazz with 22.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, and 1.5 SPG while shooting 42.0% from the field, 80.4% from the free throw line, and 32.6% from 3 point range. Rudy Gobert contributes 15.4 PPG, 12.9 RPG, 3.8 ORPG, 2.2 APG, and 2.2 BPG while shooting 65.4/66.0/00.0. Ricky Rubio chips in 13.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.3 SPG. Jae Crowder (12.2 PPG/4.8 RPG/0.8 SPG), Joe Ingles (11.8 PPG/3.8 RPG/5.0 APG/1.3 SPG/37.8% from 3), Derrick Favors (11.2 PPG/7.2 RPG/1.4 BPG), Kyle Korver (9.3 PPG/2.4 RPG/39.3% from 3), and Royce O’Neal (5.1 PPG/3.3 RPG/0.7 SPG/42.7% from 3) play big minutes as well.
Key Injuries
G Dante Exum (ankle) – out
The Nuggets are showing why they’re one of the best teams in the West, winning their first 3 games out of the All Star Break with 3 wins by an average of 15.3 PPG. They boast one of the deepest rosters in the league, and have scorers and shooters all over the floor, as well as a top 6 scoring defense. With versatile guys like Jokic, Murray, Harris, Beasley, Millsap, Barton, and Thomas they have at least 7 guys capable of taking over a game on the offensive end.
On the other side, the Jazz offense is coming primarily from Mitchell, with Gobert and Rubio giving you a consistent 10-15 points per game. They don’t have many shot creators outside of Mitchell, and make their chops on the defensive end where they are the 4th ranked scoring defense.
Is that enough of a disparity to consider them here? The Nuggets well balanced attack on both sides of the floor seems to be enough to carry them to a healthy win here.
Final Pick: Denver Nuggets (-6)
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