Warriors vs. Jazz Odds, Preview, Pick & Prediction - Saturday, January 1st
Warriors vs. Jazz Odds
| Warriors Odds | +5 |
| Jazz Odds | -5 |
| Over/Under | 222.5 |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 1 |
| Time | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBATV |
NBA fans will be treated to a battle between two of the three best teams in the league on Saturday evening when the Golden State Warriors travel to the Vivint Arena to take on the Utah Jazz. Entering play, the Warriors own the best record in basketball at 27-7, but Utah is only 1.5 games behind the Dubs, owning a 26-9 record heading into tonight’s action. Similar to the rest of the league, this contest is impacted by COVID-19. Both Draymond Green and Damion Lee will be on the sidelines for Golden State in this one. Utah has not submitted an official injury report as of this writing, but is unlikely to have Hassan Whiteside available, who left yesterday’s contest with a concussion. Oddsmakers are anticipating good health playing a key role in this one, pricing the Jazz as 5-point home favorites on the spread at online sportsbooks.
Warriors
Though the Warriors will be without Green and Lee this evening, they are far from an easy opponent to face. Per Cleaning the Glass, when Green and Lee are off of the floor this yar, Golden State still ranks in the 80th percentile in offensive efficiency and the 99th percentile in defensive efficiency. In this matchup, Golden State still has each of their top-three leading scorers, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole –who are combining to average 64.4 points per game.
The Warriors rank 2nd in the NBA this season in Net Rating, and are 3rd in Net Rating when playing on the road–outscoring their opponents by 4.5 points per 100 possessions. The Warriors have not played since Tuesday, due to their last game being postponed because of COVID-19 related issues. The Warriors are 7-3 when playing with a rest advantage this season and 7-2 when playing with more than one day of rest between games. Bettors should not expect this team to roll over, simply because they are missing a couple of key pieces.
Jazz
The Jazz have been one of the most dominant teams in the NBA in recent weeks, having won six consecutive games, with four of those victories coming by double-digits. Yet, this will be, by far, their toughest game during their recent run of success. During their winning streak, Utah has beaten up on the Charlotte Hornets, Minnesota Timberwolves (twice), Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trail Blazers–each of which was missing key pieces due to the ongoing global pandemic.
The Jazz are only 3-2 when playing on the latter half of a back-to-back this season, suffering losses to the Orlando Magic on November 7 and Washington Wizards on December 18. They are more vulnerable tonight than the market indicates.
Picks and Prediction
The Jazz are relatively healthy heading into tonight’s action, which is an undeniable advantage. Yet, the Warriors have had three days of rest leading up to this contest, which followed an embarrassing home loss to the Denver Nuggets. Bettors can be sure that Stephen Curry and company are eager to get that bad taste out of their mouth this evening. When the best team in basketball is getting five points on the spread, it is extremely difficult to rationalize any other wager.
If looking to attack the player prop market in this one, PrizePicks has Rudy Gobert’s prop listed at over/under 15.5 points. Per EdgHouse, Gobert has hit this number 19 times in 35 games played this season, including eight of his last 11 contests. Against an undersized Golden State frontcourt, Gobert should find plenty of success in this one. Take the over.
PICK: Warriors (+5)
PROP: Rudy Gobert OVER 15.5 Points, PrizePicks
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