Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
Friday, 2/4/11, 10:30 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Denver -10
Current Betting Line: Denver -10
Opening Total: 209
Current Total: 207
Utah has dropped six straight road games and will likely need point guard Deron Williams to return from a wrist injury to have any shot of winning tonight’s game in Denver. The Jazz have split their last four games with Williams on the bench, obviously missing his contributions of 21.9 points and 9.4 assists a night. The team is currently in the hands of backup guard Earl Watson, who has averaged 8.5 points and 8.0 assists in the four games the star has missed. “Right now, all I care about is winning,” said Watson. “I don’t care about the individual performance.” Utah is 7-10 ATS as an underdog this year and currently getting double-digit points on the NBA lines page.
The Jazz were defeated by the Nuggets in the season opener 110-88, with the team falling behind by nine points by the end of the first quarter. Utah still holds a commanding 95-66 edge in the all-time series, but is just 30-50 all-time against Denver on the road. The team will definitely miss Williams’ production against one of the better squads in the Western Conference, as he was the leading scorer in three of the four games last season. Many NBA experts expect a solid second half of the season from the Jazz, considering its 80-30 record in February and March over the last four seasons. For that to happen, Utah will need to play much better on the road, dropping the last four such games by an average of 19.7 points.
Denver has won six of seven at the Pepsi Center and come into tonight’s contest with the Western Conference’s second-best home record at 21-5. The Nuggets should have plenty of confidence in knowing they have won five straight home games over the Jazz and facing a team that has allowed 105.5 points on 51.4 percent shooting in their last six road games. Reaching the century mark is very important in the squad’s success, posting a 19-2 record when scoring 100-plus points in a game, while the Jazz are 2-9 when giving up at least 100 on the road. Denver is 22-25 ATS on the season and 5-3 ATS versus division opponents.
The Nuggets have gone 6-3 overall against the Jazz over the past three seasons and forward Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 23 points in the first meeting of the season. Offensively, the team has shot 50 percent or better from the field in nine of its last 15 games. On the other end, by holding Portland to 90 points in its last contest, Denver snapped a string of nine straight games of allowing 100-plus points. Head coach George Karl has been preaching that the team must play together in order to make a legitimate playoff run. “You don’t win championships individually,” he commented.
Bettors are likely to back the Nuggets due to their 6-0 ATS mark as a home favorite, while the Jazz are 0-4 ATS as a road underdog.
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