Utah Jazz (25-25) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (22-25)
January 25, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Portland Trail Blazers -3.5; Over/Under: +235
(Get latest betting odds)
The Utah Jazz travel to the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Utah Jazz have been in fine form as they’ve won five of their last seven games overall and they will be eager to stay hot after routing the Hornets in a 120-102 home win on Monday. Lauri Markkanen led the team with 25 points and 11 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 18 points while Mike Conley chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Jazz shot 47 percent from the field and 16 of 40 from the 3-point line as they poured in 37 points in the second quarter to take control of the game, before they finished with a flurry in the fourth quarter to make it a blowout.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers have been in rough shape as they’ve lost eight of their last 11 games overall, but they will be looking to build some momentum in this one after snapping a three-game skid with a 147-127 win over the Spurs on Monday. Damian Lillard led the team with 37 points and 12 assists, Anfernee Simons added 26 points while Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 59 percent from the field and a sizzling 20 of 33 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 40 points in the first half, before they exploded for 45 points in the third quarter to pull away and win earn the much-needed victory.
Looking at the betting trends, the Jazz are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a win of more than 10 points and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Trail Blazers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 home games, 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a win of more than 10 points and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Jazz are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall and the Jazz are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings in Portland.
The Jazz are still without Kelly Olynyk while the Trail Blazers are still missing Justise Winslow. The Jazz have been building nicely and they looked good in their dominant win over the Hornets on Monday, while the Trail Blazers were in a major slump before they snapped out of it with a much-needed win over the Spurs. The Trail Blazers are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 home games, so I can see why the short line is tempting in this spot, but the Trail Blazers have been well below their best lately and I’m not sure a win over a struggling Spurs team is enough to get them back on track. Give me the Jazz to pull off the minor upset in this spot.
