Jazz Look To Earn 10th Straight Road Win Vs Nuggets

The Utah Jazz (27-10 SU, 18-19 ATS) visit the Denver Nuggets (18-17, 15-20) at Ball Arena on Wednesday in their second meeting of the season. The Jazz are 7-1 in their last eight games while the Nuggets are 3-1 in their last four contests.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Jazz, Sportsbooks of nine straight away from home, opened as 5.5-point road favorites while the total was set at 219.5 points. The OVER is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings between the two teams. Utah is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games while Denver is 2-4 ATS in its last six outings.

Utah News & Notes

Utah won 115-104 over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday as Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 29 points. Mike Conley Jr. had a strong outing with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Bojan Bogdanovic dropped 21 points.

While Mitchell has been far and away Utah’s top performer this season at 25.7 points per game, the Jazz have benefited from plenty of depth throughout the lineup, with their top five scorers all averaging over 14 points per contest. That depth has allowed Utah to become the best offensive team in the NBA through the first half of the season, scoring 116 points per game.

Hassan Whiteside (concussion), Rudy Gobert (shoulder), Bogdanovic (finger), Udoka Azubuike (ankle) and Royce O’Neale (shoulder) are questionable for Wednesday. Mitchell (back), Jordan Clarkson (back) and Eric Paschall (personal) are probable, while Joe Ingles (health and safety protocols) is out.

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Denver News & Notes

The Nuggets fell 103-89 to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday as their win streak was snapped at three games. Luka Doncic had a double-double for Dallas with 21 points and 15 assists while Denver’s Nikola Jokic led all scorers and had a double-double of his own, dropping 27 points and 16 rebounds in a losing effort.

Denver has been up and down of late, going 8-7 over its last 15 games. Despite the team’s rocky form, the one constant has been the play of Jokic. The 2020-21 MVP is averaging 25.7 points and 14 boards per game – he’s averaging just a half-point less and three rebounds more than he did last season.

Jeff Green (health and safety protocols), Monte Morris (health and safety protocols) and Vlatko Cancar (foot) are out. Austin Rivers (thumb), Zeke Nnaji (health and safety protocols) and Bones Hyland (conditioning) are questionable.

How Utah Will Cover

The Jazz have been one of the best road teams in the NBA this season with a record of 13-3. On top of that, they own the best road offense (114.6 points) and road defense (102.8 points) to boot. On the flip side, they’ll be taking on an offensively starved Nuggets squad that’s averaging just 105.8 points per game (23rd). If we go by Utah’s numbers, it’s safe to say they’ll cover the spread in this matchup.

How Denver Will Cover

The Nuggets might be the underdogs in this one, but they boast the best player in the matchup in Jokic. The star center hasn’t scored 30-plus points in a game since December 11 when he dropped 35, so he’s likely due for a big night sometime soon. If the Nuggets are going to cover in this one, it’ll certainly require a monster effort from Jokic.

Computer Pick: Nuggets +4.5

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