New Orleans Pelicans (18-9) vs. Utah Jazz (16-14)
December 15, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Utah Jazz +1.5; Over/Under: +231.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz duke it out once again at the Vivint Arena on Thursday night.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been in great shape as they’ve won nine of their last 11 games, but they will be hoping to bounce back in this one after getting thrashed by the Jazz in a 121-100 road loss on Tuesday. Zion Williamson led the way with 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists on 10 of 16 shooting, Jonas Valanciunas added 15 points while CJ McCollum chipped in with 14 points. As a team, the Pelicans shot just 39 percent from the field and a miserly four of 27 from the 3-point line as they got off to a slow start and scored just 15 points in the second quarter, before they allowed 39 points in the third quarter to fall behind by as many as 27 points.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their past seven games and they will be eager to stay hot after blowing past the Pelicans on Tuesday. Malik Beasley led the way with 21 points off the bench, Lauri Markkanen and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each scored 19 points while Jarred Vanderbilt chipped in with 18 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Jazz shot 47 percent from the field and 15 of 47 from the 3-point line as they dominated the second quarter and held the Pelicans to just 15 points to take the early lead, before they let loose with 39 points in the third quarter to put the game to bed early.
Looking at the betting trends, the Pelicans are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against a team with a winning record and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Jazz are 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 7-0 ATS in their last seven games against a team above .600.
Head to head, the over is 23-11 in the last 34 meetings overall, the Pelicans are 1-5 ATS in the last six meetings in Utah and the Pelicans are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings overall.
The Pelicans are going to be a little shorthanded once again as Brandon Ingram and Jose Alverado are both out, while the Jazz will be missing Collin Sexton and Simone Fontecchio once again. The Pelicans have clearly been one of the hottest teams in the league with Williamson leading the way and they will surely come out firing after getting stopped in their tracks on Tuesday. It’s always tough to beat the same team twice in a row, so I’ll back the Pelicans to bounce back and escape with the narrow win here.
