Tuesday NBA: Jazz (46-27) at Blazers (46-27)
The best game of Tuesday night in the NBA should be Utah visiting Portland, with both teams tied for second in the Northwest Division behind Denver and both jockeying to get into the top four of the Western Conference for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Host Portland is a 6.5-point favorite on WagerWeb.com, with an over/under of 194.
The problem for Utah is that it is coming off a game Monday night against the Knicks, where it blew a 24-point third-quarter lead before eventually beating New York 112-104. But playing all his starters deep into the game with having to travel to Portland for tonight’s big game no doubt is not something Utah coach Jerry Sloan was wanting to do.
In addition, Portland is 19-4 this season against teams playing on the second night of back-to-backs. It sounds like Blazers coach Nate McMillan will try to wear down the weary Jazz:
“The thing is to be aggressive and that’s what we want to do,” he said. “We know we need to do that defensively as well as offensively. Keep the pressure on their defense by pushing the ball. But that team (Utah) will be ready, it’s an experienced team. These games are important for both teams.”
Sloan said his players shouldn’t be affected by the extra minutes – “They’re not 40 years old,” he said — but the Jazz have gone just 14-21 on the road and 3-14 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
“I’m used to playing a lot of minutes, so it’s not a big deal,” Utah’s Deron Williams said. “We just can’t let it affect us [tonight]. We can’t think about it.”
The Jazz’s Andrei Kirilenko hit his hand on the rim in the second quarter Monday, sprained his right ring finger and did not return, but said afterward he expected to play tonight.
Utah leads the season series 2-1, winning both games in Salt Lake City but missing at least one starter in each of the three games overall. Portland has won five straight at home in this series and has covered in all five.
Portland’s 30-7 home mark is its best after 37 games since equaling that record in 1991-92.
WagerWeb.com Trends
* Favorite is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 meetings.
* Home team is 20-8 ATS in the last 28 meetings.
* Jazz are 0-5 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Portland.
# Jazz are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games.
# Jazz are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS loss.
# Jazz are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record.
# Jazz are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog.
# Jazz are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
# Jazz are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as a road underdog of 5.0-10.5.
# Jazz are 0-8 ATS in their last 8 games as a road underdog.
# Jazz are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
# Jazz are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog of 5.0-10.5.
# Jazz are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
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