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The Utah Jazz will try and continue their impressive run as the NBA's top team when they have a rematch of Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Jazz-Lakers prediction and pick.
The Jazz dropped their last game, which just so happens to be against the Lakers. They will once again be without their top player Donovan Mitchell, who is out with an injured right ankle.
The Lakers, on the other hand, pulled out the 127-115 overtime win over the Jazz on Saturday and they will look to continue to build off that. For a team that hasn't played without superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they have done an admiral job going 5-5 in their last ten games.
This is the third and final meeting between these two teams. The Jazz and Lakers have both won a game, so you can call this game the rubber match.
NBA Odds: Jazz-Lakers Odds
Utah Jazz -6.5 (-115)
Los Angeles Lakers +6.5 (-105)
Over 214 (-110)
Under 214 (-110)
Why The Jazz Could Cover The Spread
The Jazz are the best team in the league with a 42-15 record for good reason. They are well-balanced on offense and play good solid and fundamental defense. Obviously, the loss of Mitchell is huge, but this is a team that has a ton of depth and guys who can make shots.
Center Rudy Gobert and point guard Mike Conley missed the game on Saturday, but both are probable to play in tonight's matchup.
On Saturday the team was led by Jordan Clarkson who stepped up for Conley and Mitchell. Clarkson put up a team-leading 27 points and he should finish around that same mark tonight.
Joe Ingles always benefits when the team is down a man, and tonight won't be any different. Ingles is a sharp-shooting wing, who can play as the guard or small forward. Bogdan Bogdanovic is healthy and that's good for Jazz fans. He's a bit of a streaky scorer, but when he's hot there aren't many as good as him in hitting big shots.
The Jazz will benefit from having two of their regulars in the starting lineup, The fact that they went to overtime without them, shows the resilience of this team. Against a shorthanded Lakers team, the Jazz should cover the 6.5-points with their elite scoring prowess and stour defense.
Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
The Lakers have been surprisingly sturdy since losing LeBron James to an injury. They may be the fifth seed, but the team has won five of their last ten games without them, and oh yeah Anthony Davis is also out
On Saturday when they beat these same Jazz squad, they got a huge performance by Andre Drummond who led the team with 27 points. They also got 25 points out of both Dennis Schroder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Head coach Frank Vogel has gotten the most out of his role players and when they send Talen Horton-Tucker and Montrezl Harrell off the bench, they can become a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.
Kyle Kuzma continues to impress with his role as the team's leading scorer with both James and Davis out. However, it's Schroder who has been the most productive in the absence of their stars. Schroder is dealing with a foot injury, but he is probable for tonight's game.
Another player who doesn't get a ton of recognition for his play as of late is Markieff Morris. Morris won't blow you away, but he always seems to finish with double-digit points to go with a handful of rebounds.
The big thing for the Lakers to not only cover the spread but win the game will be the play of Andre Drummond. Drummond finally gives the Lakers a big man that they have desperately need all year. He came away with his best performance as a Laker on Saturday. However, that wasn't against Gobert, so it will be interesting how he fares against a true big man. If he can win the battle in the paint and control the boards over Gobert, the Lakers should cover and possibly win the game tonight.
Final Jazz-Lakers Prediction & Pick
This will be another tough and hard-fought matchup between these two Western Conference teams. The Lakers have been playing well lately, but with the additions of Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, it might be too much to ask for them to beat the NBA-leading Jazz. All things consider it should be a close game, but the Jazz come away with the close win to just nearly cover the spread.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: UTA 108, LAL 101 (UTA -6.5)
