Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets 8/17/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-08-17 13:30:00 EDT
The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets meet Monday in game one of NBA playoff action at the HP Field House.
The Utah Jazz enter the playoffs after losing five of their last seven games. The Utah Jazz are averaging 111.3 points on 47.1 percent shooting and allowing 108.8 points on 45.7 percent shooting. Donovan Mitchell is averaging 24 points and 4.3 assists while Jordan Clarkson is averaging 15.6 points and 2.8 rebounds. Rudy Gobert is the third double-digit scorer and Mike Conley is dishing 4.4 assists. The Utah Jazz are shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc and 77.0 percent from the free thitem line. The Utah Jazz are allowing 35.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44.9 rebounds per game.
The Denver Nuggets enter the playoffs on a three-game losing streak. The Denver Nuggets are averaging 111.3 points on 47.3 percent shooting and allowing 109.2 points on 46.3 percent shooting. Nikola Jokic is averaging 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds while Jamal Murray is averaging 18.6 points and 4.9 assists. Will Barton is the third double-digit scorer and Paul Millsap is grabbing 5.8 rebounds. The Denver Nuggets are shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc and 77.7 percent from the free thitem line. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 35.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 44.1 rebounds per game.
The Jazz are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Monday games and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games playing on 3 or more days rest. The Nuggets are 11-1 ATS in their last 12 Monday games, 4-9 ATS in their last 13 playoff games as a favorite and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite. The over is 5-1 in Jazz last 6 overall. The over is 18-7-1 in Nuggets last 26 overall. The under is 21-6 in the last 27 meetings.
These teams met last week and the Utah Jazz needed everything and then some from Mitchell to eventually still lose in overtime. The Denver Nuggets have won six of the last nine meetings against the Jazz, which includes three straight victories that dates back to January. The Nuggets are probably the better team overall with more depth, but this feels like a series where points may be a bit hard to come by, as both teams can slow things down in the half court and kind of suck the life out of the ball at times. Four of the last six meetings between the Jazz and Nuggets have been decided by six or less points. The last two meetings overall have been decided by an average of 2.5 points. This series will be tight.
Give me the Jazz and the free bucket.
