NBA Picks: Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz
Written by Steve Janus - Google +
The Utah Jazz will have a new head coach leading them Friday night when they host the Phoenix Suns. After Utah fell 91-86 at home to Chicago Wednesday night, Sloan decided he no longer had it in him to continue coaching. Tyrone Corbin will take over for Sloan.
Taking a look at the NBA spreads for tonight’s games, oddsmakers have the Jazz favored by 6-points over the Suns with the total set at 208.
While all the talk is about Sloan stepping down, the Suns come into Utah playing some of their best basketball of the season. Phoenix won at Golden State 104-92 on Monday, and followed that up with a 112-88 win at home over the Warriors last night. Phoenix is 5-1 in their last six, and with a win tonight they can move above .500 for the first time since Dec. 7.
I have a pretty good feeling it wasn’t just the loss to the Bulls that sent Sloan packing. Utah has lost 10 of their last 14, and the rumor is Sloan had finally had enough with point guard Deron Williams.
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Phoenix really looked impressive in their win over the Warriors last night. The Suns shot 52.4% from the field, hit 12-22 from three-point range, and went on a 20-0 run between the end of the second quarter and start of the third.
Steve Nash scored a team-high 18 points to go along with his 11 assists, Channing Frye went 4-6 from downtown on his way to 17 points, and Robin Lopez scored 12 points and grabbed six boards in just 15 minutes of work. With the Suns up huge early, reserves saw a lot of action late, and Phoenix ended up getting 53 points from their bench.
The Jazz did a great job defensively against the Bulls, as Chicago had just two players score in double-figures and shot just 39.8% from the field. Utah ended up shooting 47.4% and had all five starters score in double-figures.
Al Jefferson led the way with 26 points and eight boards, while Paul Millsap put in 20 and grabbed 14 rebounds. Deron Williams was held to just 11 points on 5-13 shooting, but did have 12 assists in the game.
What cost the Jazz was the fact that they got just five points from their bench players. Utah’s reserves were outscored 25-5 on the night, and with the way the Suns bench has been looking, Utah better have some guys step up their game tonight.
I think this is a good time to jump on the Jazz. I expect to see Utah really come out and play hard not only for their new head coach, but their fans as well. Utah has lost three straight in front of their home crowd.
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