NBA: Utah Jazz vs. LA Lakers Preview, Odds, Prediction

This is one of the more interesting games on Monday night. The banged-up LA Lakers host the Utah Jazz in a matchup that closes the night. Jazz comes to LA straight from Denver after facing the Nuggets last night. The Lakers’ previous event was in Denver as well, but unlike Utah, they lost to the Joker and the boys. Currently, the LAL sits eighth in the West, with not-so-bright prospects for winning the title. Furthermore, they might fail to reach the playoffs if something doesn’t change in their game. As for the Jazz, they are going steady, playing well despite having numerous troubles with absences in the last few weeks.

Preview

LA Lakers (21-22, +165) lost the last three games in a row, in all of them allowing 125+ points. The first defeat came at home vs. Grizzlies, 127-119, after that in Sacramento, 125-116, and at last, the Nuggets demolished the LAL 133-96.

LeBron James had 25 points with nine boards and two assists, while Russell Westbrook scored 19, adding only five rebounds. The veteran center, Dwight Howard, was in the starting lineup delivering 13 buckets. Denver had more boards, 51-41, they’ve hit 23 threes in 40 attempts, while the Lakers made only 10 in 30 attempts.

The problem for the purple and gold is Anthony Davis’ injury. The Eyebrow will be out for some time, and to be honest, it was just a matter of time before his injured aggravated, as he constantly played with some mild health issues. Kendrick Nunn is out too, and it seems that Carmelo Anthony won’t be ready also.

Utah Jazz (29-14, -200) had a very good game in Denver last night. The franchise from Salt Lake City posted a 125-102 victory, their 29th of the year. Even though they had a double-digit lead in the second period, the Jazz allowed the Nuggets to level the score coming into the final period.

Yet, a 31-14 tun in the ultimate 12 minutes put an end to this clash. The Nuggets didn’t have enough offensive power and versatility to match Jazz’s output. Utah shot from the field 52.4%, and they scored 15 threes in 39 attempts. They were also dominant on the glass, 51-39.

Donovan Mitchell had 31 points, 11-for-24 from the field, while Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and had five assists. Rudy Gobert had a very strong double-double with 18 points and 19 boars, not missing a single of his seven shots from the field. Jordan Clarkson had 16 off the bench.

Head to Head

So this is the first meeting in 2021/22 between the two great rivals. Last year we saw them meeting on three occasions, with the Jazz winning twice and Lakers once.

Prediction

The Jazz has an extraordinary offense, the top one in the league at the moment with 115.1 points per game. Meanwhile, the Lakers’ defense is fifth from behind, and that immediately reveals in which direction this game goes. Utah is in great shape, with their players mostly being healthy, unlike the LAL. That is why we back up their victory, and not only that but also covering the spread -4.5 points. After dismantling the Nuggets last night, this shouldn’t be a big problem for Quin Snyder’s guys.

Pick: Jazz -4.5

Here is the preview for the Bulls vs. Grizzlies game.