Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 6/18/2021

The Utah Jazz will be hoping to stave off elimination against the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 at the Staples Center on Friday night.

The Utah Jazz are suddenly playing to keep their season alive after getting ambushed by the shorthanded Clippers in a 119-111 loss in Game 5 on Wednesday. Bojan Bogdanovic drained nine 3-pointers to lead the team with 32 points on 10 of 20 shooting, Donovan Mitchell got off to a slow start and finished with 21 points while Rudy Gobert chipped in with 17 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, the Jazz shot 45 percent from the field and 20 of 54 from the 3-point line as they got off to a hot start with 65 points in the first half, but sloppy turnovers kept the Clippers in the game and it cost them big in the end. Mitchell was never able to find a rhythm and shot just six of 19 from the field, Royce O’Neale shot just four of 11 from the field while Bogdanovic scored just nine points in the second half after exploding for 23 points in the first half. Mike Conley sat out the game with that lingering hamstring injury and is considered doubtful for Game 6.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers looked down and out after dropping the first two games of the series, but they’re now just one win away from advancing after an inspirational team effort on Wednesday night. Paul George led the team with 37 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, Marcus Morris added 25 points on 10 of 16 shooting while Reggie Jackson stepped up and finished with 22 points on eight of 15 shooting. As a team, the Clippers shot a healthy 51 percent from the field and 16 of 40 from the 3-point line as they hung in the contest after a slow start, before taking over in the third quarter where they outscored the Jazz by 32-18 after trailing by as many as 10 points early. George deserves plenty of credit for stepping up in place of the injured Kawhi Leonard, but it was a real team effort as Morris and Jackson came up big late.

Looking at the betting trends, the Jazz are 4-0 ATS in their last four road games, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team above .600 and 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a road favorite. The Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as a home underdog.

Head to head, the under is 3-1-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Jazz are 9-3 ATS in the last 12 meetings in Los Angeles and the Jazz are 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings overall.

The Jazz must be so disappointed with their play in Game 5 as they missed on a massive opportunity to take the series lead against a hampered Clippers lineup. George led the way with one of his best performances of his career while role players like Morris, Jackson and Mann all stepped up with big shots when the team needed it, so the momentum is clearly with the Clippers. The Jazz got caught off guard and ambushed by a more desperate Clippers team playing with house money and I just don’t see that happening two times in a row, especially with the season on the line. I think this series goes the distance as the Jazz win this one by single digits behind a big bounce-back game from Mitchell.