Philadelphia 76ers AT Utah Jazz
Mar 14, 2011 at 9 PM EST
Opening Line: Philadelphia -2
Current Line: Philadelphia -2
Opening Total: 199
Current Total: 199
Opening Moneyline: Phil -110 / Uta -110
Current Moneyline: Phil -140 / Uta +120
One has to wonder just what the Jazz were thinking when they a) allowed Sloan to walk away mid season, without a thorough effort to convince him to stay and b) inexplicably dealt Deron Williams for Devin Harris & Derrick Favors. That move, more than anything, both shocked the league and gave the Nets a legitimate chance to build a winning team and consequently convince Deron Williams to stay in 2012 when he becomes a free agent.
Philly is coming off a back to back stint in which they lost the second game 102-74 to Milwaukee. They shot only 39.7% in the loss and turned the ball over 21 times. “We came out flat in the beginning. Tried to make a run in the third quarter but it just didn’t work for us,” said Sixers guard Jodie Meeks. “We just have to forget about it.”
Forgetting about it might be easy against the Jazz. The Sixers have had one of the best records in the league over the last 20 games and have become a surpsingly decent team on the road.
Some betting trends:
The total has gone OVER In 4 of Philly’s last 6 games and they are 8-3 SU in their last 11 games. The total has gone OVER In 8 of their last 11 on the road and they are 5-2 SU in their last 7 on the road. Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Utah and Philadelphia is 1-6 SU in their last 7 against the Jazz. Philadelphia is 0-5 SU in their last 5 road games in Utah and they are 1-3-1 ATS in those games. The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 7 games on the road against Utah.
Utah is 1-7 ATS In their last 8 games. The total has gone OVER In 4 of their last 5 games and they are 3-11 SU” in their last 14 games. Utah is 1-7 SU in their last 8 home games and 0-5 ATS in their last 5 at home. The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Utah’s last 10 at home and the total has gone OVER in 10 of their last 15 against the Sixers. Utah is 6-1 SU in their last 7 against Philadelphia and they are 11-4-1 ATS in their last 16 at home against the Seventy Sixers. The total has gone OVER In 5 of Utah’s last 7 games at home against Philadelphia and the Jazz are 5-0 SU in their last 5 home games against Philadelphia.
Key Matchups:
Jrue Holiday vs Devin Harris
The battle here at the point guard spot should be a pretty even one. Holiday and Harris are both bigger point guards (6’4″ and 6’3″ respectively) and will push the pace on offense. Holiday has been impressive, averaging 13.7 points per game, 6.2 assists per game, and 4.0 rebounds. He’s also shooting 35.6% from distance and averaging one three a game. Harris hasn’t been part of the problem for the Jazz. The 9th year point guard is putting up 16.0 points per game and 6.1 assists per game since joining the Jazz. In the 118-100 blowout loss to the Bulls , Harris had 23 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists and he has scored 20 or more in 3 of his last 6 games. Look for Holiday to press up on Harris and use his length to attempt to frustrate Harris and force bad passes. Harris has had 4 or more turnovers in 3 of his last 6 games.
Andre Iguodala vs Andrei Kirilenko
It’s questionable as to whether the defensive stoppers will guard one another or not. Both are lockdown defenders and are relied upon by their teams to shut down opposing studs. Kirilenko is long, agile, and gets a lot of steal and blocks and Iguodala is capable of playing hard nosed in your face defense. Both are fair scorers, but their contribution is on the defensive end where they help make their team that much stronger on defense, although Utah is giving up over 101 points per game.
Philadelphia is narrowly favored for tonight’s game, and they should be given the recent performances by these teams. Philadelphia’s defense is among the best in the league and should be able to give Utah a lot of problems, especially given their already existing turnover problem.
