Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks odds, starters, injury report, predictions
By Matt Giles
Will the Utah Jazz get back on track at home?
One could argue that the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks each effectively “stole a game” in the first two outings of their best-of-seven first-round NBA Playoffs series.
Utah stole one by winning Saturday’s Game 1 on the road, 99-93, swiping homecourt advantage from Dallas. But from the Mavericks’ perspective, they asserted control of the series on Monday night by defeating the Jazz in Game 2, 110-104, without the services of three-time All-Star forward Luka Doncic (strained left calf), who has yet to play in the series.
Now, the battle comes to Salt Lake City, where the Jazz franchise has managed to go 6-3 between its past two relatively short-lived postseasons.
Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks Game 3 Odds
According to WynnBet (as of Thursday morning), Utah is a 6.5-point favorite for Game 3. The over/under sits at 210.5 points.
Utah Jazz Starting Lineup Tonight
The Jazz should go with their standard starting five of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Rudy Gobert.
Utah Jazz Injury Report
Udoka Azubuike (right ankle surgery) remains out for the season. And it appears that Trent Forrest (left foot sprain), who could have been helpful during spurts off the bench in Game 2 as Mike Conley suffered significant scoring woes, is unlikely to play in Game 3.
Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks Game 3 Prediction
According to ESPN’s Tim McMahon, Luka Doncic, head coach Jason Kidd, and the Dallas medical staff will decide Doncic’s availability for Game 3 on Thursday. Although Doncic seemed hopeful about returning for this bout and perhaps without any time restrictions, he noted that he would unlikely be 100 percent. Meanwhile, the Mavericks upgraded his status to “questionable.”
Again, Dallas handled business just fine without Doncic on Monday night, largely thanks to the surprising 66 combined points and 14-for-21 shooting beyond the arc from Jalen Brunson and Maxi Kleber.
So can the Jazz make the necessary tweaks to better contain the Mavericks’ growing-in-confidence 3-point attack without compromising the vaunted interior defense of center Rudy Gobert and backup Hassan Whiteside? Will Mike Conley rebound from arguably the worst playoff performance of his illustrious career (0 points and 0-for-7 from the field in Game 2)?
Will Doncic play? Could a less-than-100-percent Doncic inadvertently take away from his supporting cast’s recent hot hands and heightened intensity by taking too many ill-advised shots of his own?
Perhaps the truckload of question marks is a sign of a back-and-forth Game 3 and chaotic finish…
Prediction: Jazz 104, Mavericks 103
Make your pick now on WynnBET.
Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks Game 3 TV Channel
Game 3 between Utah and Dallas airs on NBA TV at 7:00 p.m. MT Thursday.
Utah Jazz Next Game
Game 4 also takes place in Salt Lake City and tips off on TNT at 2:30 p.m. MT Saturday.
dark. Next. Expected Jazz adjustments for Game 3 against Mavs
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