The Charlotte Hornets (37-36) host the Utah Jazz (45-28) Friday at the Spectrum Center for a 7 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Jazz vs. Hornets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Utah has lost back-to-back outings at the Brooklyn Nets Monday (114-106) and at the Boston Celtics Wednesday (125-97). The Jazz are 4-3 straight up (SU) and 3-3-1 against the spread (ATS) over the past two weeks.
Charlotte had its 5-game winning streak (4-1 ATS) snapped in a 121-106 loss to the Knicks Wednesday in New York as 8.5-point road favorites.
The Jazz won their eighth straight meeting versus the Hornets Dec. 20, 112-102, but Charlotte covered as 12.5-point road underdogs, ending a 4-game ATS losing skid to Utah.
Jazz at Hornets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:10 p.m. ET.
- Money line (ML): Jazz -175 (bet $175 to win $100) | Hornets +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
- Against the spread (ATS): Jazz -3.5 (-120) | Hornets +3.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 228.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
Jazz at Hornets key injuries
Jazz
- SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) out
Hornets
- SF Bojan Bogdanovic (calf) out
- C Hassan Whiteside (foot) questionable
[tipico]
Jazz at Hornets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Jazz 124, Hornets 112
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” to the Jazz (-175) because this is on the fringe of my price range for Utah in this spot. Betting the Jazz ATS has been very costly this season, so I’d much rather have Utah’s ML than sweat a cover.
But, I like fading the Jazz versus good teams and betting them against bad to mid-tier teams. My power rankings have the Hornets 17th, and Charlotte is overpriced in both the ML and ATS markets for this meeting.
PLAY: Free, daily sports pick’em contests. Play now!
Against the spread
BET the JAZZ -3.5 (-120) because they should shred Charlotte’s porous defense, and Utah is at least three possessions better than the Hornets +3.5 (-107).
Furthermore, Utah runs the HIGHEST frequency of pick-and-roll (PnR) action through ball handlers and ranks FIRST in efficiency. While Charlotte has the fifth-WORST defensive efficiency versus PnR action through ball handlers.
If the Hornets get diced up in the PnR, it’s going to leave Utah’s 3-point shooters wide open. The Jazz are FIRST in effective field goal shooting (eFG%) and the Hornets are 25th in defensive eFG%.
On top of that, Charlotte’s defense ranks 22nd in shot quality allowed to catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and 23rd versus off-the-dribble 3s, according to ShotQuality.com.
Finally, I think we are getting a good price on the Jazz because they lost back-to-back games, and the Hornets won five straight from March 11-21.
But, Utah’s past two losses were against a red-hot Boston team, and Brooklyn, who has a top-five player on the planet in Kevin Durant. Charlotte is or has neither.
BET the JAZZ -3.5 (-120) for 1 unit all the way up to -5.
Over/Under
LEAN OVER 228.5 (-107) because Utah’s spread is my favorite wager in this game, and I’m skeptical of Charlotte’s offense in this spot. The Hornets like to attack the rim, which is an area Utah big Rudy Gobert locks down.
However, the Jazz’s offense should have a slump-buster outing against this weak Hornets defense. Plus Charlotte’s offense could find some success in transition, which is an area Utah’s defense struggles in.
Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, Sportsbook Wire’s official sportsbook partner in CO, NJ and soon IA. Bet now!
If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Please gamble responsibly.
Follow Geoff Clark on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional NBA sports coverage:
HoopsHype | Celtics Wire | LeBron Wire | Lonzo Wire | Nets Wire | Rockets Wire | Sixers Wire | Thunder Wire | Warriors Wire | Rookie Wire | List Wire
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1622]