Utah Jazz vs. Golden State Warriors Game 2 Preview
Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
When: Thursday, May 4, 2017, 10:30 PM ET
Line: Utah Jazz (+12.5) at Golden State Warriors (-12.5); total: 204.0 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
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Betting on the Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz failed to capitalize on their valiant Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers by losing Tuesday’s Game 1 contest against the Golden State Warriors, 106-94, in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs.
Head coach Quin Snyder tinkered madly with his lineup to alleviate the fatigue, opting to play all 13 of his players on the roster. All 13 of them managed to score a bucket, yet not one player managed to reach the 15-point mark. In turn, Rudy Gobert was the best player that evening with a rather underwhelming stat line of 13 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Gobert also picked up a flagrant 1 foul on Golden State’s Draymond Green.
It’s a good thing that the Jazz outrebounded the Warriors, 44-37, or else their defeat would’ve been worse. However, they still committed 14 turnovers that led to 20 points for the Dubs, and they were also overrun 29-6 on fast-break points.
It’s too early to count out Utah – the best defensive scoring team during the regular season at just 96.8 points allowed per game – from making this series a little more competitive. The team has just got to find ways to excel on the road, where they’ve gone 5-5 over their last 10.
On the other hand, and if you’re not confident that the Jazz can steal Game 2, you might as well want to bank on them to cover the double-digit spread instead. They actually have a better record of 7-3 against the spread in those last 10 road games, with six of those seven ATS victories coming in succession entering Thursday’s showdown.
Betting on the Golden State Warriors
There were more signs of explosiveness than rust in Game 1 for the Golden State Warriors, who had a full week of rest prior to Tuesday’s win.
All five of Golden State’s starters scored in double digits for the second-consecutive playoff game. Stephen Curry put up 22 points in just three quarters of action, while Draymond Green had a monster night with 17 points, eight boards, six assists and a couple of blocks. Green, by the way, has now swatted a total of 19 shots this postseason.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they couldn’t get anything going from deep, knocking in just seven of their 29 shots from three-point range. On the other hand, they didn’t need to make three’s rain at all in Game 1, especially when they distributed the ball extremely well as they’re also known to do. Golden State racked up 32 assists, which was two dimes more than their NBA-best regular-season average (30.4).
With the first contest of the series out of the way, the Dubs are likely oiled up and ready to get their offensive machine running more smoothly and efficiently again. Another home game further adds to their chances of winning as well, as they’ve won eight of their last nine meetings against the Jazz in the raucous confines of Oracle Arena (6-3 ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
The Warriors (-12.5) deal an even bigger blow to the Jazz’s spirits in Game 2, 125-102.
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