We have a Northwest divisional matchup on the cards on Thursday, January 18, with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting Salt Lake City to take on Utah Jazz. Tip off is at 9:00 p.m. ET and the Thunder are currently 3.5 favorites with BetMGM. They will be looking to bounce back from a two-game losing streak, whilst the Jazz are on the hunt for their seventh straight victory.
OKC occupy second-place in the Western Conference with a record of 27-13. They have won 67.5% of their games this season, but enter the matchup here on the back of successive defeats against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Meanwhile, Utah Jazz (22-20) have won their last nine straight at Delta Center and defeated the Indiana Pacers 132-105 on Monday night in their last matchup. They are currently ninth in the conference standings. We’ve got a bet for you for tonight’s game and you can find all the analysis behind our pick below!
Last Time Out
After losing 128-117 on the road to the LA Clippers in their last game, the Thunder will be searching for a victory in this one. The Thunder battled hard against the Clippers, particularly towards the end of the game. They pulled the scores back to 106-104, 108-107 and 113-112 all inside the final quarter. However, Paul George helped inspire the Clippers to go on two successive 7-0 runs to seal the victory.
Oklahoma City failed to win either of their two games during their visit to LA, also losing 112-105 to the Lakers. That means they are now two games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves atop both the conference and division standings.
The Jazz were set to host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, but the game was postponed after the sudden passing of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević. That means Utah’s last game was at home to the Pacers on Monday, allowing them to have a two-day rest. Utah remains five wins behind the Thunder and they have also played an additional two games.
Injuries
Oklahoma City aren’t expected to be dealing with any injuries here and had a clean bill of health for their game against the Clippers. They are coming off back-to-back games in LA, but had Wednesday night off before heading to Utah. Still, they will be playing their third game in four days tonight.
Utah Jazz had to deal without Taylor Hendricks, Johnny Juzang, Micah Potter, Jason Preston, and Brice Sensabaugh during their win against the Pacers. All five are expected to remain sidelined for the clash with the Thunder. The Jazz have managed to keep their star players healthy, though, and that has been a key factor in their strong run of form recently.
Head-to-Head
OKC beat Utah Jazz 134-120 earlier on in the season when they met at Paycom Center in Oklahoma. The Thunder have won their last four consecutive meetings with Utah Jazz and won the last clash in Salt Lake City 114-98 last season.
Against the Spread Stats
Being one of the best ATS teams in the league, OKC have covered 66.7% of the time. However, that percentage drops to 55.6% for road games. The Thunder have been poor away from home of late, losing four of their last six. They also failed to cover as six-point underdogs against the Clippers. Oklahoma City are just 4-6 ATS as road favorites, but cover 69.6% of the time after a day’s rest.
Utah are one of the most in-form teams in the NBA and have lost just three of their last 15 games. They have been one of the better teams ATS this season and rank inside the top five, covering 61% of the time. The Jazz also have the best ATS record in the league for home games (16-4-0). As home underdogs, Utah covers 76.9% of the time, and are 4-2 after 2-3 days off.
Key Players
OKC guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranks fourth in terms of points per game across the entire league (31.0). He also ranks inside the top 20 in terms of assists per game (6.3) and is averaging a solid 5.7 rebounds per matchup. He will be the star player for the Thunder tonight.
However, the likes of Josh Giddey (11.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists), Jalen Williams (18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists) and Chet Holmgren (17.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists) will all be looking to contribute.
The home team will be leaning on Finnish star Lauri Markkanen who is averaging 24 points per game this season. The forward is coming off a superb showing against the Pacers as well after he recorded 32 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Guard Collin Sexton will also be looking to build on his strong showing against Indiana. He managed to score 30 points and also make five assists. Jordan Clarkson (17.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists) will also be expected to make an impact on the game.
Best Bet
The Jazz have the extra rest advantage now after the postponement of their game with Golden State. Fatigue was a factor in the Thunder’s loss against the Clippers, and it will likely play a role in tonight’s game as well.
It will be hard for the Thunder on the road here and the Jazz have been in fantastic shape on their own court. OKC have struggled at times away from home so the expectation is that Utah will be able to secure their tenth successive home victory.