Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
Two of the NBA’s hottest teams will square off tonight as the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz both bring seven game winning streaks to the table. Dallas has lost five straight in Salt Lake City, and beating the Jazz on their home court has been struggle for the rest of the NBA of late. Utah has won five straight at home, but will go up against a Dallas team that is 6-1 on the road this season.
Checking out our odds for tonight’s game, the oddsmakers currently have the Jazz favored by 3-points over the Mavericks at home.
Why Dallas will Cover: Dallas hasn’t played well at Utah, but the key for them tonight will be rebounding. The Jazz have dominated the Mavericks on the boards. In the last two visits to Utah, the Jazz have out rebounded the Mavericks by 31 boards. Dallas added Tyson Chandler this offseason and he comes in averaging nearly 14 rebounds in the last five games, and while he might not seem like he has a big impact on the game, his performance could decide who comes out on top.
The Mavericks will also need a big game out of Dirk Nowitzki. This is the one player that can get it going and help this team win no matter who or where they are playing. In the Mavericks last 10 games at Utah, the Mavericks haven’t lost when Nowoitzki scores at least 29 points.
Why Utah will Cover: The Jazz haven’t been just beating teams by a couple points, they are winning by an average of 14 points a game. Utah is shooting nearly 50% from the floor during the win streak, and are playing excellent defense, allowing just over 90 points a game.
In Utah’s last five home games they have beat the likes of the Packers, Bucks, Lakers, Hornets, and Kings. The only game that was decided by fewer than 11 points was a six point win over the Lakers.
To no surprise the key to the Jazz is point guard Derron Williams, who comes into the game averaging 22 points and 10 assists a game. Williams dropped 24 points 16 assists on the Pacers Wednesday night, and this team will go as far as he takes them.
My Prediction: You simply have to play the odds and take the Jazz to win by at least 3-points in this game. The Mavericks have lost their last five games at Utah by an average of nearly 12.8 points per game.
One Response to “Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz”
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Wow, they beat the Packers!!! This basketball team is good enough to beat football players- the Mavs better watch out.