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The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. It's time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Lakers-Jazz prediction and pick.
Both of these teams desperately need a win in this game. The Lakers are finishing up one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history, but they still have a shot to make the play-in tournament. They have a half-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs for the tenth seed, making every game left an incredibly important one. The Jazz aren't in danger of missing the postseason, but they still need a victory here. They've fallen to the sixth seed in the Western Conference, but they only trail the fifth seed Denver Nuggets by half a game. With so much on the line, expect an entertaining game in this one.
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Here are the Lakers-Jazz NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Lakers-Jazz Odds
Los Angeles Lakers: +13.5 (-112)
Utah Jazz: -13.5 (-108)
Over: 227.5 (-110)
Under: 227.5 (-110)
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Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread
Luckily for the Lakers, the Jazz are coming into this game on a massive cold streak. Utah has lost each of their last five games, including bad losses to the Charlotte Hornets and the Los Angeles Clippers. Momentum is a proven factor in basketball, and the Jazz enter this game with absolutely zero momentum. The Lakers also have far more to play for here, as the Jazz have essentially locked up a postseason spot. Los Angeles is playing for a shot to make the playoffs, which could provide powerful motivation in this contest.
This is a huge spread for any team to cover, including the Jazz. The last three times the Lakers have faced a spread this size, they've managed to cover twice. Out of the last three times Utah entered the game as a comparable favorite, they failed to cover it twice. It's possible that these trends repeat themselves in this matchup.
Why The Jazz Could Cover The Spread
Utah has essentially every single advantage possible in this game. They'll be facing a bad Lakers team that is playing without their two best players in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. That leaves Los Angeles to start Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, Malik Monk, Stanley Johnson, and Dwight Howard. That lineup is easily one of the worst starting fives in the entire NBA. The Lakers were just blown out by the Dallas Mavericks using the same lineup listed above, and there's no reason to think anything different will happen in this matchup.
Home court advantage will play a big part in this matchup. The Jazz have earned a 26-11 record at home while going 19-20 on the road. They're clearly a much better team when playing at home. The Lakers are similar, as shown by their 52% winning percentage at home and their 29% winning percentage on the road. Overall, everything about this matchup points to the Jazz winning in a blowout fashion.
Final Lakers-Jazz Prediction & Pick
Even with this huge spread, this is a fairly easy pick. The Lakers have been playing absolutely awful basketball lately, and they won't have LeBron James to carry them to a close game here. Utah should humiliate the Lakers once again and win easily.
Final Lakers-Jazz Pick: Utah Jazz: -13.5 (-108)
