Tip off: 8:35 PM EST
Spread: SAS -13.5
Total: 197
M/L: SAS -1500, UTA +950
The Jazz got an unexpected lift from second year forward Derrick Favors last game, who started in the absense of Al Jefferson, who was nursing an ankle injury. Favors erupted for 20, giving the Jazz their first victory of the young season. While it’s hardly enough to excite Jazz fans, they surely have to realize that they are at least in quasi-rebuilding mode, with Favors being more to get excited about than the older Al Jefferson (though Jefferson has a lot of good basketball in his sneakers still, to say the least)…
The Spurs started out 2-0 with wins over both Memphis and the Clippers, but have since lost to the Rockets, badly.
They managed only 85 points in the loss to Houston, with DeJuan Blair’s 22 & 12 being the only redeeming performance on the Spurs. Blair will be in the running for the NBA’s most improved player award if he keeps it up. He has nearly doubled his scoring average from last seasons’s 8.3 to 16.0, to go with 6.3 boards per game, in only 21 minutes of action.
Utah Jazz Betting Trends:
The Jazz are 4-8 ATS in their last 12 games, and the total has gone UNDER in 8 of their last 12 games. The Jazz are 4-12 SU in their last 16 games and they are 2-9 SU in their last 11 on the road.
San Antonio Spurs Betting Trends:
San Ant is 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 and the total has gone OVER in 15 of their last 21 games. The Spurs are 7-1 SU in their last 8 home games and they are 6-12-1 ATS in their last 19 at home.
Key Matchups:
Paul Millsap / Al Jefferson vs. Tim Duncan / DeJuan Blair
Millsap and Jefferson are clearly the better duo at this point in Duncan and Blair’s career. Duncan is on the tail end of a hall of fame career, and Blair is a blossoming third year forward, but Millsap and Jefferson both have All-Star ability…now. Jefferson is in the best shape of his career, and Millsap is argubly the Jazz’ best player, though he doesn’t start, as Jazz coach Ty Corbin prefers Millsap’s bang off the bench. Last season, Millsap scored 46 in a game in Miami on November 9th. It shows his big game potential, as he hit 19 of 28 shots in that game. Last season, Millsap averaged 17.3 points per game.
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