The NBA season heats up with an in-season tournament matchup between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers. Our NBA odds series continues with a Jazz-Lakers prediction and pick.

As one of the younger teams in the league, it was widely expected to be a season of ups and downs for the Utah Jazz. However, many did not believe it would be this rough of a start. The Jazz have lost six of their last eight games and are coming off a two-game homestand sweep at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. The most recent game was a 140-137 2OT loss. However, they saw a phenomenal performance from Lauri Markkanen, who threw together a 38-point, 17 rebound Double-Double. Now headed on the road, he will try to duplicate this effort, only this time, leading the Jazz to a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sunday's game for the Los Angeles Lakers marked a much-needed morale victory. The Lakers avenged a 34-point loss from earlier in the season against the Houston Rockets. On Sunday night, they beat the Rockets in their second matchup of the season by a score of 105-104. The one-point victory was highlighted by LeBron James, who got his revenge over the self-proclaimed villain, Dillon Brooks. James posted a season-high 37 points in the win on a remarkable 73.7% shooting from the field. To get their third straight win, the Lakers will need a similar output from James and company to take down the high-scoring Utah Jazz.

Here are the NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

NBA Odds: Jazz-Lakers Odds

Utah Jazz: +7.5 (-110)

Los Angeles Lakers: -7.5 (-110)

Over: 237.5 (-110)

Under: 237.5 (-110)

How to Watch Jazz vs. Lakers

Time: 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT

TV: TNT

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Jazz Could Cover The Spread

Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers have experienced injury issues for the past several years. And this season has been no exception. The Jazz see the Lakers facing a pretty gaudy injury report coming into this one. For starters, while Anthony Davis is listed as “Probable” with a hip injury, even if he plays, it is apparent that he will not be 100%. Additionally, LeBron James is “Questionable” to play with a calf injury. Jared Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Jalen Hood-Schifino are rounding out the report. As the Jazz come into this game, seeing the Lakers have their two best players on the injury report, look for health and fatigue to play a factor in deciding this outcome.

With a lineup loaded with height, it is no surprise that the Jazz have been able to dominate opponents on the glass. With 12 players on the roster who are 6'5″ or taller, the length this team poses has unquestionably been their biggest strength. The Jazz rank first in the league in offensive rebounds per game with 15.3. Meanwhile, the Lakers are hauling the third-fewest offensive rebounds per game in the NBA, with only 8.2. The Jazz will control the glass in this one, leading to an abundance of second chance points, which will aid their covering.

Why The Lakers Could Cover The Spread

When looking at overall team trends for this matchup, the Los Angeles Lakers should blow the Jazz out of the building on Tuesday. On the road this season, the Utah Jazz are 1-5 with an average margin of defeat of 14.2 points. Then, when it comes to how the Lakers have fared at home, they have been at their peak. The Lakers are 6-1 at home this season. With these two trends going at each other head-on, it appears clear that the Lakers are heading towards another win with a cover in hand against this Jazz team, who cannot get it together on the road.

A major strength of this Lakers team this season has been their ability to draw contact and get to the line. Drawing fouls and baiting their opponents to get into foul trouble early has led to an abundance of free points for this team. The Lakers are drawing the league's fifth most fouls per game at 21.3. This has led to them getting to the line with ease and racking up the sixth most free throws made per game. With the Jazz totaling the sixth most fouls per game in the league at 21.2, if the Lakers attack them with physicality early and continue to play to this strength, the free points and lack of depth for Utah will lead to an easy cover for Los Angeles.

Final Jazz-Lakers Prediction & Pick

This matchup sees the top two teams of the Western Conference's Group A pinned against each other. Entering this game, the Lakers are undefeated at 3-0 in tournament play, and the Jazz are at 2-1. In what is a decisive matchup for the tournament's seeding, this has become a surprisingly high-stakes game. Although the Jazz put up significant numbers on offense against the Phoenix Suns in back-to-back games, I will go with the Lakers in this one. The home-court advantage will pay dividends, and look for the Lakers to cause some of the Jazz's key players to be sidelined early due to foul trouble. Give me the Lakers against the spread in this one.

Final Jazz-Lakers Prediction & Pick: Los Angeles Lakers -7.5 (-110)