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The Utah Jazz host the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder in a Western Conference clash that has huge playoff standing implications. Utah is listed as a 6 point favorite, with a total of 210.5 points expected tonight. This battle starts at 9:00 EDT tonight.
Despite playing well of late, revenge will certainly be the word of the day for Utah tonight. Utah has lost all 3 meetings SU to the Thunder this season, and are on the verge of being swept by the Thunder franchise for the 1st time in 27 years. Utah has been playing great of late, winning 7 of their past 10 games SU. The Jazz are 50-27 SU and 47-27-3 ATS overall this season, and are currently tied for 2nd in the Western Conference playoff standings. These final 5 games will be crucial for the Jazz, as there are 4 teams tied for the 2nd spot in the Western Conference. Utah is coming off one of their worst performances of the season, losing SU by double digits to the Lakers. Playing in front of their home crowd will be a huge advantage tonight, as the Jazz are 31-8 SU at home this season. Utah needs to handle their business better within their division, as they are only 7-8 SU in the Northwest Division. The Jazz have won 9 straight games SU at home, averaging 113.7 PPG in those contests. F Carlos Boozer leads the Jazz with season averages of 19.8 PPG and 10.6 RPG this season.
The Jazz are 23-6 ATS in their last 29 games following a SU loss. The under is 6-0 after the Jazz allow 100 points or more in their previous game. Forward Andrei Kirilenko continues to be the only fragile player on the Jazz roster. He is listed as Doubtful tonight with a calf injury.
If you polled the rest of the potential Western Conference playoff teams, the one team nobody would want to play is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are a young team that is gaining more and more confidence as the season wears on. This Thunder team is hot right now, winners of their past 4 games SU. Oklahoma City is 48-28 SU and 45-31 ATS overall this season. The Thunder are currently in 6th place in the Western Conference, only 1.5 games behind the logjam of teams tied for 2nd in the Conference. Oklahoma City already owns a SU win in Utah this season, winning by 10 PTS in late November as an 8 point underdog. The Thunder are 19-11 ATS this season as the listed underdog. In their current 4 game winning streak, the Thunder have scored at least 109 PTS in each contest. F Kevin Durant has been simply amazing this season, and he just became the franchise leader in PTS scored in a season, surpassing Dale Ellis in 1988-1989. Durant is 2nd in the NBA in
scoring, averaging 29.7 PPG this season. PG Russell Westbrook and F Jeff Green are the other Thunder players averaging double figures in PTS this season.
The Thunder are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games as the listed underdog. The Over is 4-0 in the Thunder's last 4 road games. This young roster is completely healthy, and they are excited with the playoffs so close.
Pregame projects the final score to be 112-100 in favor of the Utah Jazz tonight. The Jazz -6 is the Play of the Day!
