Top-Seeded Jazz Begin Playoff Run vs Grizzlies

The Utah Jazz finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA at 52-20 SU and 41-30-1 ATS to lock up home court throughout the 2021 playoffs. The Jazz begin their postseason journey this Sunday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The betting line on this matchup hasn’t moved since Utah opened as an 8.5-point favorite at home. The total opened at 215.5 points and has been bumped up slightly to 216 points as early bettors have leaned towards the OVER. Memphis is 12-6 ATS in its last 18 road games.

Memphis News & Notes

The Memphis Grizzlies took care of business in their first play-in game on Wednesday night with a 100-96 win over the San Antonio Spurs. And then just five days after they lost on the road to the Warriors 113-101, the Grizzlies went into Golden State and came away with a 117-112 upset win in overtime as 4.5-point underdogs to punch their ticket into the postseason. Ja Morant scored 35 points to help Memphis upset Stephen Curry’s 39 points.

Morant finished the regular season with 19.1 points and 7.4 assists per game in his second year in the NBA. The Grizzlies have the third youngest roster in the NBA with an average age of just 24.3; regardless of how this series goes, this will be a valuable experience for this young core. Memphis enters the postseason with a 7-1 SU record over its last eight games.

Utah News & Notes

The Jazz wrapped up their regular season on a high note, defeating the Sacramento Kings 121-99 in Sacramento lock up the No. 1 overall seed in the Western Conference. Utah lost Donovan Mitchell to an ankle injury on April 16 but held on to the top spot in the West with a 10-6 SU and 8-8 ATS run down the stretch without him. Mitchell practiced over the weekend and is expected to play on Sunday.

Donovan Mitchell was enjoying a career year before his injury with 26.4 points and 5.2 assists per game. The Jazz were 42-14 SU and 33-22-1 ATS while Mitchell was healthy and are getting him back at the perfect time. A well-rested Mitchell should give the Jazz a nice spark for the postseason as they hope to win their first NBA Championship in franchise history.

Betting Pick: Memphis +8.5

Two of the last three games between these two teams have been decided by four points or less. Memphis could be more playoff-ready in this matchup too coming off of two straight elimination-game wins. Utah should come out on top at home, but we’ll take the points in what should wind up being a competitive game.