The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers lock horns for the second time this season. The Jazz won the first meeting, so will they double down on their dominance of Portland? Or will the Blazers even the regular-season series up? Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Portland Trail Blazers vs Utah Jazz NBA Regular Season Game on April 8, 2021
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
When: Thursday, April 8, 2021, 10:00 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (Odds) vs. Utah Jazz (Odds) – view all 2020-21 NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSNW
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (odds)
Regular Season Record: 30-20
The Trail Blazers are coming off a 133-116 road loss to the LA Clippers on Tuesday, their second loss in three games. Portland certainly missed getting a great performance from Damian Lillard, as the star point guard struggled again with his shot, going 2 of 14 from the field and finishing with just 11 points. Something seems to be not right with Lillard, who shot just 27.6 percent from the field in his last two games. There are no reports of injury on the part of Lillard, so he’s probably just showing he’s human after all. He can still explode on any given game, so Utah will have to be wary of him. Plus, the Blazers still have the likes of Norman Powell and CJ McCollum to supply points from the wings. Powell had 32 points in the Clippers game, while McCollum had 24. With the attention that Lillard is getting, Powell and McCollum should see plenty of chances to get open looks against the Jazz.
The Blazers, fifth in the NBA with 115.2 points per game, have seen the total hit the over in all of their last five contests on the road.
Betting on the Utah Jazz (odds)
Regular Season Record: 38-12
The Jazz have nothing much to worry about. Even though they saw their nine-game win streak get snapped in a 111-103 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks last Monday, the Jazz remain as one of the best teams in the NBA right now. Utah will look to rebound this Wednesday on the road against the Phoenix Suns before focusing its attention fully on Portland. The Jazz have already defeated the Blazers once this season, scoring a 120-100 road win over Portland back in December. In that game, Donvan Mitchell had 20 points and 5 assists, while Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds. Gobert can have his way again inside in this rematch against Portland, with the Blazers missing Jusuf Nurkic. That means the Blazers will mostly rely on constant defensive liability, Enes Kanter, for most center minutes. Speaking of defense, Utah held Lillard to only 9 points (4-12 FG) in the first meeting.
The Jazz are 3-1 against the spread in their last four home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Jazz wins, 123-117.
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