Utah Jazz (7-21) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (9-20)
December 26, 2024 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Portland Trail Blazers -3.5; Over/Under: +224.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers collide at the Moda Center on Thursday night. Here’s a Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Prediction. This article will include a Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Pick.
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz have been in a major slump as they’ve lost nine of their last 12 games overall and they will be hoping for a better effort after getting trounced by the Cavaliers in a 124-113 road loss on Monday. Jordan Clarkson led the team with 27 points, six rebounds, and five assists off the bench, Lauri Markkanen added 26 points while Collin Sexton chipped in with 24 points and five assists.
As a team, the Jazz shot just 41 percent from the field and 19 of 44 from the 3-point line, but they showed plenty of fight to keep the scores close until the third quarter where the Jazz allowed 39 points to fall behind by 17 points.
Portland Trail Blazers
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers have been in terrible form as they’ve lost eight of their last nine games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting trampled by the Mavericks in a 132-108 road defeat on Monday. Deni Avdija led the team with 19 points, Deandre Ayton added 16 points with nine rebounds while Scoot Henderson chipped in with 14 points off the bench.
As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 46 percent from the field and eight of 29 from the 3-point line, but they were never really a threat in this one after allowing 34 points in the second quarter and another 40 points in the third quarter to trail by as many as 32 points. Jerami Grant had a night to forget as he scored just three points on one of seven shooting in 20 minutes of action. The Blazers will play the Mavs, 76ers, Lakers, Bucks, and Pistons next.
Why the Utah Jazz will win
- The Trail Blazers have lost each of their last eight Thursday games as favorites.
- The Jazz have won four of their last five games as underdogs against the Trail Blazers.
- The Trail Blazers have failed to cover the spread in each of their last eight Thursday games as favorites.
- The underdogs have covered the spread in seven of the Trail Blazers’ last eight games at Moda Center.
Total Points Facts
- Each of the Jazz’s last six road games against Western Conference opponents has gone OVER the total points line.
- Ten of the Trail Blazers’ last 11 home games against Northwest Division opponents have gone OVER the total points line.
Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz Prediction
The Jazz are still shorthanded with John Collins and Keyonte George both listed as day-to-day, while the Trail Blazers are still missing Robert Williams and Matisse Thybulle. Both teams have been struggling for a while now, so you really couldn’t bet on either side with any confidence, but the Jazz looked competitive for most of their game against the Cavaliers on Monday and I think they represent decent value as the underdog against an ice-cold Trail Blazers squad.
