If the Utah Jazz have had an up-and-down season, their fans shouldn’t complain to Los Angeles Lakers supporters. They’ve had a down year, full stop.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Yet, in a way, it felt inevitable. Conventional wisdom has always dictated that LeBron James should be surrounded by floor-spacing. Russell Westbrook provides virtually everything but.
The Lakers (26-31) have tested the talent-over-fit hypothesis to its extreme this season. Barring a late season surge, the results are in: fit matters. The Jazz (36-21) seem entirely aware of that. They don’t roster a former MVP winner, but the pieces on their squad fit like a puzzle.
Odds are, that will carry them to victory in tonight’s contest.
Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers Odds Tonight
According to WynnBet, the Jazz are 5.5 point favorites to win this contest, and -225 point favorites on the money line. The Lakers are +185 money line underdogs.
The over/under is presently set at 226.5 points.
Utah Jazz Injury Report
The Jazz’s injury report is blissfully brief for this contest. Rudy Gay is sidelined with a knee injury.
Utah Jazz Starting Lineup
Jazz fans shouldn’t expect any surprises tonight. Look for Quin Snyder to field his usual starting group of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale and Rudy Gobert.
Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction
We’ve already made our prediction for this contest fairly clear.
Look for the Jazz to shoot the Lakers out of the building in this one. The Jazz boast the best combination of three-point volume and efficiency in the league. They attempt the second most threes in the Association (40.4 per game) and hit the sixth highest percentage of them (36.1%).
The Lakers can’t claim the same efficacy from downtown. They attempt 34.4 threes per night (16th in the NBA) and convert just 35.0% of those (18th).
We did mention this team’s failure to space the floor around LeBron James, right?
It’s a problem. The Lakers rosters James, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. Yet, they’re overwhelmingly unlikely to lose to the Utah Jazz tonight. Go figure.
Prediction: Jazz 124, Lakers 113
Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers TV Channel
Lakers fans can find this game on Spectrum SportsNet, while fans in Salt Lake City should tune into AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
Utah Jazz Schedule and Next Game
This will be the Jazz’s last game before the NBA’s All-Star break. Jazz diehards can look for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to represent the team in the annual showcase.
The team returns to action against the Dallas Mavericks on February 25. After that, it’s a clash of the contenders as they’re up against the Phoenix Suns on February 27. They’ll kick off march with a game against the Houston Rockets on the 2nd, and see the Pelicans on the 4th.