It’s a battle of rookie point guards tonight when Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay takes on Utah’s Raul Neto. While Denver drafted the promising young guard in the draft, Mudiay still makes way for the Nuggets’ other stars in Kenneth Faried and Danilo Gallinari. Meanwhile, the Jazz have continued to decrease Neto’s minutes while leaning heavily on stars Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors.
It’s going to be a fun night filled with basketball action. Check out our complete previews for the Grizzlies vs. Blazers and Heat vs. Timberwolves.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets Preview
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver
When: Thursday, November 5, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz’ rookie point guard Raul Neto is enduring growing pains. He’s been cold from the floor, going 7 of 21 for just 21 points through the first four games of the season. But he’s been pretty good at taking care of the ball with just five total turnovers. With how he’s playing right now, it’s going to take more time before Utah can pin its trust on its rookie point guard.
[sc:NBA240banner ]The Jazz do have a solid backup in Trey Burke, who erupted for a season-high 17 points in 26 minutes off the bench yesterday in a 108-92 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Alec Burks added a team-high 21 points off the bench. But if the Jazz are to really get things going, they’ll need the versatile Gordon Hayward to find his shot.
Hayward shot just 7 of 20 from the floor in the loss to the Blazers. But he did lead all starters with 19 points. Hayward may be due for a big game tonight, considering he was spectacular against the Nuggets last season. He averaged 19.3 points on 42 percent shooting in four matchups last year. Hayward will be hard-pressed to perform especially if power forward Derrick Favors continues to struggle due to a bad case of the flu.
Favors made a season-low six points against the Blazers, a day after being sent home from practice due to a bout due to the flu. If the Jazz power forward happens to feel much better tonight, then he could erupt for a big performance to help spur the Jazz to a victory. Favors averaged 21.3 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting through the first three games of the year.
The Jazz are 4-2 SU/ATS in their last six games on the road.
Betting on the Denver Nuggets
Like Utah’s Raul Neto, the Denver Nuggets’ rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay is also enduring some growing pains. He’s been horrible from the field, shooting at a 31 percent clip; he’s also averaging a league-worst 6.3 turnovers per game. But Mudiay still impressed in a 120-109 win against the Lakers Tuesday night, getting the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 10 assists.
The Nuggets dominated the paint as power forward Kenneth Faried was close to unstoppable. Faried scored 25 big points and had 15 rebounds. He got plenty of support from small forward Danilo Gallinari, who added 21 points. J.J. Hickson also had a big game, scoring 17 points and hauling in seven rebounds in 25 minutes starting in the place of Nikola Jokic (rest). All of Denver’s starters scored in double digits against the Lakers.
Denver could slow down against the defensive-minded Jazz though. Before Wednesday’s loss to Portland, the Jazz had the league’s slowest pace with 93.3 possessions per 48 minutes through the first three games. Prior to Wednesday’s contest, the Jazz had allowed opponents to shoot just 37 percent from the field.
The total has gone under in three of the Nuggets’ last four games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Nuggets turn up the tempo in a hard-fought victory. Create a betting account now and cash in on primetime NBA action.
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