The December 9th Jazz at 76ers matchup should be a good one, but does it become a toss-up game with both teams playing on the second leg of a back to back? Utah would seem to be in the better spot after a pretty easy 136-104 win in Minnesota last night, but the Sixers are also back home after a four game road trip (3-1).
Oddsmakers have the Jazz as -3 point favorites on Thursday night as they come in on a five game win streak. Utah has won 8 of their last 10 overall and are now 3.5 games back of Phoenix and Utah in the Western Conference. The Jazz are a solid 8-3 on the road this season, but Philly is just 5-5 at the Wells Fargo Center this year. About 3/4 of public bettors like the Jazz in this spot.
Jazz Coming Off an Easy One
Utah has won five in a row, and although they are on the back to back Wednesday’s 32 point win in Minnesota didn’t take a whole lot of effort. The Jazz pulled away in the second half but Donovan Mitchell (36 points) still logged 33 minutes. The good news is that every other Utah player besides Rudy Gobert (30:35) played less than 30 minutes.
Having an easy time with the T’Wolves should leave Utah relatively fresh for the December 9th Jazz at 76ers meeting as they try for a sixth straight win. The Jazz have played their usually strong defense in amassing the win streak, holding six of the last seven opponents overall to 108 points or less.
The 216 betting total for this game does seem on the high side considering Philadelphia had scored 102 points or less in five of six games prior to a consecutive meetings with the Hornets’ worst defense in the league. Utah also picked up a 120-85 win over Utah in Salt Lake City on November 16th as -12 point favorites.
Sixers Back at Home
The 76ers have probably found all the good restaurants in Charlotte, spending the last five days there over two meetings with the Hornets. It was a successful trip to the Queen City for the Sixers, picking up a 127-124 OT win on Monday and then completing the sweep 110-108 on Wednesday.
Per usual Joel Embiid was dominant in the wins over the Hornets, going for 43/15 and 32/8. That was against one of the worst defensive teams against the center though, and now Embiid gets set with a showdown against Gobert and a Jazz team that ranks 11th defensively against the C position.
Embiid didn’t play in the late November game against Utah as he was in the midst of an absence due to being in virus protocols. As a result Gobert went for 15 points and 17 rebounds but this matchup should look a lot different on Thursday night.
December 9th Jazz at Sixers Betting Pick
This one looks like too easy of a slam dunk for Utah, and with 75% of public bettors agreeing definitely raises some red flags. Utah breezed to an easy win last night which should give them an advantage with both teams being on the back to back. There’s still been no line movement so oddsmakers want everybody to keep hammering Utah it would seem:
76ers 108 – Utah 105
Free Pick: 76ers +3
