The Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz will face for the second time in two days. Only this event will take place at Salt Lake City, at the Vivint Arena. The previous one ended with the Suns winning, and we are more than sure that the shorthanded hosts will be looking to avenge that defeat. Though, that will be very tough, because of the current situation in the Jazz’s locker room and their overall form. Also, the Suns, on the other hand, are red hot and have just one defeat in the past 10 events. We can say that Monty Williams’ team has reached full speed at the moment.
Preview
Phoenix Suns (37-9, -115) have the best record in the league and have a solid advantage over all the other rivals in the No.1 seed race. Also, the Suns are on a seven-game winning streak during which they’ve defeated the Raptors, Pistons, Spurs, Mavericks, Pacers, and the Jazz.
That 115-109 win over Utah demanded a lot of energy because Jazzers didn’t want to back down that easily. Phoenix opened the match well and closed it in the same manner, while the middle sequences both saw the rivals playing better.
Devin Booker had 33 points but hit only three of 13 downtown shots. He also added seven boards, two blocks, and steals. Chris Paul was one rebound short of a triple-double, scoring 27 points, and adding 14 dimes with nine boards. Cameron Johnson scored 20, while Bismack Biyombo had 16 with 13 boards off the bench.
Utah Jazz (30-18, +115) is in serious trouble. They will appear on Wednesday without Donovan Mitchell, Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Ingles, and Royce O’Neale. That is practically their starting lineup, plus another very important player.
We’ve seen the Jazzers replacements fighting well in Arizona, and we need to give them credit for that. Seven players had 10 or more points in this one, with the best scorer being Jordan Clarkson, who had 22 points. Trent Forrest added 17, while Erich Paschall and Danuel House Jr. both had 14 buckets.
Hassan Whiteside couldn’t control the paint all alone, and that was the reason why the Suns won the battle on the glass, posting 51 boards, compared to 38 of the Jazzers. The Suns also scored more points from the paint, 52 opposite to Utah’s 44.
Head to Head Games
As said, the first meeting between these teams ended 115-109 for the Suns. That was the only one this year. During 2020/21, Phoenix swept the Jazzers during the regular part of the campaign winning all three games.
Prediction
This is too good of an opportunity for us to miss it. The Suns have a much deeper roster, and overall, their current squad is miles ahead of the Jazz, with all due respect towards all of Utah’s players. The spread on the guests is -1.5 points, and they should cover that without any particular problems. The odds on this pick are -110, and that is the opportunity we’ve been talking about. Be sure that there won’t be too many such situations for catching solid profits like this one.
Pick: Suns -1.5
Nikola Velickovic is a sports journalist who loves to write and read on all sports. Nikola contributes both news updates and functions as a sports breaking news writer at WagerBop.
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