NBA Basketball
2011-01-28 - Minnesota at Utah Jazz
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 28 January 2011 - Tip-Off 9pm ET
2am (British Standard Time)
Preview
To say the Utah Jazz (27-19) are struggling at the moment might be an understatement as the team has now lost 6 games in a row, including the last one on home court. However, I am sure all those in attendance tonight will be expecting the Jazz to get back to winning ways as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves (10-35) who have won just 2 of their 23 road games this season.
There are still some doubts over Deron Williams and whether the Point Guard is healthy enough to play in this game. Williams has been suffering with a sprained wrist, but it did not stop him unloading a season high 39 points on the San Antonio Spurs last time out.
Jerry Sloan was much happier with the effort provided by his team that had been scoring an average of 93.8 points per game and allowing 108.2 points per game during this skid, the longest since 2007.
Now the Jazz look to avoid their first 7 game losing streak since 2005 and could not have picked a better opponent than the Minnesota Timberwolves who have dropped 10 of their last 11 overall and are 7-57 on the road over the last 2 seasons.
The Timberwolves could have snapped a 4 game losing run on Wednesday when they missed 2 shots as time expired in the OT loss to Oklahoma City. Kevin Love continues to play at a truly high level and had 31 points with 21 rebounds (I am truly disappointed he is not one of the All-Star starters this year).
Love now stands 6 shy of the franchise record for double-doubles set by Kevin Garnett. He will be hoping to lead his team to another high scoring performance- Minnesota have averaged 117.7 points per game over their last 3 contests although they are also allowing 124 points per game in that stretch.
Head to Head
Utah have now won 3 in a row against Minnesota, including a win on the road in December. The Timberwolves are 7-2 against the spread in the last 9 games between the two.
However, the Timberwolves have won 2 of the last 3 games played in the series in Utah. Minnesota are 3-1 against the spread in the last 4 games played at the EnergySolutions Arena.
Utah are 10-13 against the spread at home this season, Minnesota are 11-12 on the road.
Utah are 12-12 against the spread when having 1 days rest, Minnesota are 13-14 in the same amount of rest days.
Other Interesting Notes
Utah are 7-19 against the spread in their last 26 games overall. This becomes 1-6 when playing at home.
The Jazz have lost their last 6 home games against the spread when they are favoured by between 5 and 10 points.
Minnesota are 9-19 against the spread when given a handicap of between 5 and 10 points on the road.
They are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 games on the road against a team with a winning record.
Prediction
I am again picking the road team to keep the game close enough to remain within the points being given to them- that means I have got two teams with a combined 2-42 record on the road this season on my side. However, I do have a couple of reasons why I am taking Minnesota here.
Firstly, they have played a lot of teams tough in their recent games. They may have suffered some double digit losses but they just seem to raise their game a little when playing the better teams, as shown by a 9 point loss at Orlando and a 4 point loss at San Antonio in the last couple of weeks.
Secondly, they are playing a team in Utah who have been struggling of late, losing 6 straight games, 3 of those to teams with losing records, and a team that will just want to win by any means necessary.
Thirdly, the Jazz have only blown out the Cleveland Cavaliers in recent games, gaining close wins over the Knicks and Houston and they are giving up far too many points recently. Minnesota are a team that can put up a lot of points and if the game is expected to be high scoring, an 8 point lead can be very handy.
Finally, I feel Minnesota will come into the game with a nothing to lose attitude they have against the elite teams and could take advantage of a vulnerable Utah team.
I am a little concerned that the Timberwolves have lost 2 really close games that they may have won on another day, and whether they are looking ahead to a much more winnable game against Toronto tomorrow night. However, I expect Kevin Love to show what the All-Star game will be missing and help keep this close.
The Pick :
Utah Jazz 114-109 Minnesota Timberwolves
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take a chance on the Minnesota Timberwolves + 8 PointsFollow me on Twitter @DavindaAulak- the direct link is below
