Two of the Western Conference’s stronger teams will go head-to-head as we hit the stretch run of the NBA season with the Utah Jazz facing the Oklahoma City Thunder. These teams are very familiar with each other after playing twice this season and meeting in the first round of last year’s playoffs. The Jazz may have gotten the better of the Thunder by topping them in the postseason but in the regular season, it’s been a struggle as Utah has lost 15 straight games in Oklahoma City and already dropped both games against the Thunder this season.
The Thunder opened as 4-point favorites with a total of 226.
STANDOUT STATS
- The Jazz are 0-15 SU and 3-11-1 ATS in their last 15 regular-season games in Oklahoma City.
- The total has gone OVER in six of the Jazz’s last eight games on the road (avg. combined score: 226.38).
- The Thunder are 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last six games at home (avg. win margin: 10.3).
- The Thunder are allowing 115.3 points per game in February (7 games).
- Paul George has gone 77-for-162 (47.5 percent) beyond the arc in the last 13 games.
- The Thunder are 8-1 SU and ATS in their last nine games after winning the previous game in a matchup.
Best Bet for Jazz vs Thunder
Thunder -4
This one almost feels too easy but I still like the Thunder to win this game handily because of how well they have been scoring the ball. In their recent surge (11-2 SU, 10-3 ATS), Paul George has put the team on his back and is playing the best basketball of his career.
I can’t overlook the Jazz’s woes playing in OKC because that is a damning trend for a team that is considered one of the better squads in the Western Conference. I think the Thunder are the second-best team in the West and to get them as only 4-point favorites over a team they have dominated during the regular season is too hard to pass on.
