The Utah Jazz are among the sexy picks to score an upset in the first round, but the Oklahoma City Thunder showed why it won’t be that easy for the Jazz to do that with a huge Game 1 victory. Will the same happen in Game 2? Read on for a preview of that meeting below.
The Jazz failed to steal a win in OKC Sunday, losing to the Thunder to the tune of a 116-108 score. Nevertheless, Donovan Mitchell didn’t show any signs of butterflies in his stomach as he pumped out 27 points on 11-for-22 shooting from the field. Mitchell left the game for a brief period in the second half with a toe injury, but returned to finish the contest. He underwent an MRI following the game but results came out negative. Mitchell is expected to play this Wednesday. The Jazz were killed by the Thunder’s outside shooting, but they did an excellent job of giving up easy baskets at the rim, as OKC only had 32 points in the paint as against Utah’s 50,so that’s another positive takeaway for Jazz head coach Quin Snyder heading into Game 2. Oklahoma City can’t always be luck from the outside, so Utah have that to hold on to.
The Jazz are 6-4 SU and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Paul George exploded in Game 1 for 36 points with eight three-pointers to lead the Thunder to the win over the Jazz on Sunday. George was feeling it from the perimeter and there was barely anything Utah could do to stop him and Westbrook, who had a near triple-double of 29 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists. George, however, sustained a hip contusion in the game, and while he did not sound worried about it during the postgame presser, his status is something bettors will have to be closely monitoring. Oklahoma City ank 14 treys in Game 1 on 48.3 percent shooting from deep, but it’s hard to rely on the Thunder sustaining that kind of touch from the outside. They will have to keep attacking the basket and draw fouls particularly from Gobert, who, with his shot-blocking prowess, is a huge problem for Oklahoma City’s cutters and big men.
Oklahoma City is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 home games.
