The Utah Jazz (18-7) visit the nation’s capital Saturday for a 7 p.m. ET game against the Washington Wizards (15-11) at Capital One Arena. Below, we look at the Jazz vs. Wizards odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Utah has won six straight, covering four of those games and with the Over connecting in five. Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell averaged 29.7 points per game (PPG) on 54.9% shooting (44.8% from three and 90.0% from the foul line) across that span.
The Jazz have the best non-garbage time efficiency differential in the league over the past two weeks, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CtG).
Washington snapped a three-game losing skid Wednesday by squeaking past the Detroit Pistons 119-116 in overtime as a 5-point road favorite. The Wizards are 3-4 overall, 2-4-1 ATS and 6-1 O/U with the 24th-ranked non-garbage time efficiency differential (CtG) in the last 14 days.
Washington upset Utah as a 10.5-point underdog in both meetings last season and the Over has cashed in five straight Jazz-Wizards games.
Jazz at Wizards odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:03 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Jazz -280 (bet $280 to win $100) | Wizards +220 (bet $100 to win $220)
- Against the spread (ATS): Jazz -6.5 (-110) | Wizards +6.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 220.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Jazz at Wizards key injuries
Jazz
- Nothing affecting gambling odds.
Wizards
- Nothing affecting gambling odds.
Jazz at Wizards odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Jazz 122, Wizards 108
Money line
PASS since Utah is the right side but the -280 tag is way too expensive for an NBA regular-season favorite.
Furthermore, Utah probably isn’t sleeping on Washington given it lost to the Wizards twice last season and Washington is off to a solid start this year.
Against the spread
BET the JAZZ -6.5 (-110) because they are starting to play like the team that had the best record in the NBA last season.
It’s almost impossible to beat Utah when Spida is ballin’ out. Mitchell scored 42 PPG on 48.4% shooting in both Jazz-Wizards meetings last season and is playing terrific lately.
Between the recent performance and the motivation of playing against a contemporaneous elite scoring guard in Washington’s Bradley Beal, I think we see another awesome Mitchell outing Saturday.
And while this Wizards team is better than last year’s, former Washington guard Russell Westbrook notched a triple-double twice versus the Jazz last season. Moreover, the Wizards aren’t as good as their record indicates and the Jazz are better than their record.
Washington has a minus-2.6 win differential and is allowing more points per 100 possessions than scoring (CtG). Whereas Utah has a minus-2.5 win differential and is plus-12.1 points per 100 possessions.
BET JAZZ -6.5 (-110).
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” to the OVER 220.5 (-110) for a small wager for a couple of reasons.
Last season’s Jazz-Wizards totals were set at 240.5 and 233.5 and both went Over. I know Unders were cashing at a high rate to start the season but the market is starting to correct on that and we are seeing that in Jazz games.
Utah’s offense has been red-hot recently and Washington’s defense has fallen off. The Jazz are putting 127.1 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time (first) over the last two weeks while the Wizards are allowing the third-most points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time (CtG) across that timeframe.
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