The Milwaukee Bucks are looking to build their lead in the Eastern Conference on Friday against the Utah Jazz.
Utah dropped Wednesday’s matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, pushing the team to No. 11 in the Western Conference. The Jazz have outperformed expectations this season, but at this point missing the play-in would be heartbreaking for a team that has overachieved since day one in the 2022-23 campaign.
The Bucks have been without Jae Crowder and Goran Dragic to injuries lately, missing Wednesday’s blowout over the San Antonio Spurs.
Meanwhile, Utah’s starting guards, Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, have both missed several games in a row with injuries. Does that give the Bucks a chance to win big on the road on Friday?
Let’s examine the latest odds and my best bet:
Bucks vs. Jazz odds, spread and total
Bucks vs. Jazz prediction and pick
There are dueling trends in this game, as the Jazz are a dominant 10-1 against the spread as home underdog this season, but the Bucks are 15-5-2 ATS as road favorites.
This is why we can’t blindly bet on trends, because what do you do when there are two that cancel each other out?
We look at the numbers, and over the last 10 games, the Bucks have been the far better team.
Milwaukee is third in the NBA in net rating over that stretch, while the Jazz are just 5th at -4.1.
With Clarkson and Sexton out, Utah lacks a major scoring punch that it had earlier in the season and helped make the team a top-10 offense. Over their last 10 games, the Jazz are 24th in offensive rating.
This is also a tough matchup for Utah down low, as Brook Lopez can certainly match Walker Kessler’s defensive presence in the paint.
Milwaukee has jumped to No. 1 in the East with a strong run since the start of 2023, and I think the team can cover the spread on the road, as it’s done all season, against a shorthanded Jazz team.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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Author: Peter Dewey
March 24, 2023 | 11:26 am
