Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz will look to extend their winning ways when they host Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The Jazz are the hottest team in the league right now, but will they be able to cash in as the sportsbook betting home favorite in this affair.
Could the revamped Warriors get the online betting road win behind a barrage of Steph Curry three-points to bring a halt to Utah’s winning ways?
There’s some real intrigue surrounding this meeting of Western Conference rivals. Before we find out where the best value lies in this Saturday showdown, let’s take a look at the NBA betting odds for tonight’s entire slate of action
Golden State Warriors (8-7) vs Utah Jazz (11-4)
When: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 at 9:00 p.m ET
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
TV: NBCS, ATTSN, NBALP
Let’s take a look at the odds to win the 2021 NBA Conference Championships.
Chef Curry Still Cooking For Revamped Warriors
The Dubs had their modest two-game winning streak snapped in Thursday’s 119-104 home loss to the New York Knicks as Draymond Green got mistakenly ejected after only 17 minutes of action. The Warriors were down by nine after giving up 40 first quarter points and never recovered from that deficit with Green out.
“At halftime Ben Taylor came out and told me that it was a mistake, that John Butler didn’t realize Draymond was yelling at his teammate. He thought he was yelling at him,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of his conversation with the officials. “Obviously, Draymond is one of our best and most impactful players so it hurt us, but we were playing very poorly to that point anyway. So I’m not going to talk about the officiating, I’m going to talk about our poor play.”
The good news for the once, perennially-powerful franchise is that superstar shooting guard Steph Curry has been cooking it up all season long. The two-time league MVP is averaging a healthy 28.2 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc.
While rookie center James Wiseman is having a fine debut season by averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, veteran small forward Andrew Wiggins is averaging a meager 17.7 points per game while huge free agent offseason addition Kelly Oubre Jr. is putting up a paltry 11.9 points per game after averaging a career-high 18.7 points per game with Phoenix last season.
Let’s take a look at which teams are covering the NBA ATS betting odds consistently and which ones are not.
Spida Getting Offensive, Gobert, Locking Down Other End Of Floor
Utah has won a league-high seven straight games and will come into this matchup fresh off a 129-118 win over New Orleans on Thursday night. All-star shooting guard Donovan ‘Spida’ Mitchell scored a team-high 36 points to lead the way to victory while Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
“Every chance I got, just kept putting pressure on the defense and getting to the basket,” Mitchell said. “I was able to get 13 quick and they focus on me so now the guys are open. Then guys are hitting shots, now they’re not worried about me anymore — just a mind game in the sense.”
Mike Conley added 20 points and Jordan Clarkson continued his Sixth Man of the year campaign by chipping in 19 points off the bench. Gobert blocked four shots for the seventh time this season and ranks second to Myles Turner by averaging 2.8 per contest.
Utah is ranked third in points allowed (106.0 ppg), fourth in defensive field goal percentage (44.1%) and sixth in three-point shooting defense (34.8%).
“Our ability to turn up our energy level a couple notches, especially defensively, is making the difference,” Conley said. “We really get after guys and we try to get in passing lanes and we try to just be a little bit more aggressive.”
Here is a look at the team that are playing Over and Under the NBA total odds consistently.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
While Golden State isn’t a bottom feeder, the Warriors are just what their 8-7 record suggests – slightly above average. The Dubs are putting up a solid 111.7 points per game to rank 14th in scoring, but Golden State gives up a generous 114.3 points per contest to rank 24th in points allowed.
Utah is by far the better defensive team in this matchup and the Jazz actually have the statistically better offense in putting up 112.3 points per game (12th).
Golden State has lost five of its last six road dates against Utah while going 2-3 ATS over its last five games. Conversely, Utah is a perfect 7-0 ATS over its last seven and 4-1 ATS in its last five home games.
Utah wins this matchup by at least a half-dozen points and likely by somewhere closer to double digits.
Pick: Utah 115 Golden State 107
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