Mar 5, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Utah Jazz guard Kris Dunn (11) drives to the basket around Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (3) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Things are pretty wide open in the Western Conference playoff picture, but the door is starting to close for the Utah Jazz after three straight losses. Utah has lost to Boston, Brooklyn, and the LA Lakers to fall to 36-43 which is good for 12th in the West and 2.5 games behind the 10th place, Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC is 38-42 and this young team is also sputtering as the stretch run is coming to a close.
Most recently, OKC fell to Golden State on the road, 136-125 despite 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. SGA will be out there tonight, but fellow Most Improved Player candidate, Lauri Markkanen is out with a hand injury. That makes the Thunder a favorite even on the road in Utah.
Thunder vs. Jazz odds, spread and total
Thunder vs. Jazz prediction and pick
The Jazz are packing it in. They’re 2.5 back with three to go and while they could pick up on head-to-head against OKC, they would still have to leapfrog Dallas who is in 11th. The Play-In Tournament looks like it’ll go on without Utah. It was still an incredibly successful year for a team that looked like it was tanking from the outset. However, Markkanen and Walker Kessler were the biggest reasons for that and neither will be on the floor tonight. Kessler is officially out for the year.
The Thunder don’t play anyone with real size in their lineup. They typically start Jaylin Williams, who is 6-foot-9 at center. In theory, Utah would be perfectly equipped to dominate a team with that lack of height. In practice, it hasn’t worked out that way. OKC is 2-1 against Utah and the only Jazz win came in overtime.
The Thunder are running on fumes right now. They’re a young team that never expected to compete this deep into the year and it’s showing. However, I would rather side with a talented team that’s out of gas than a team without talent. The Jazz are relying on Talen Horton-Tucker to be their leading scorer and had a -5.6 net rating in the month of March. OKC had a 0.6 and five more wins than Utah.
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