Phoenix Suns vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 12/31/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Phoenix Suns vs Utah Jazz

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: NBATV

Odds/Point Spread: Phoenix (+4)

The Utah Jazz (2-1) play the Phoenix Suns (3-1) at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Thursday. Utah opens this matchup as 4-point favorites. The total is set at 220.5.

The Phoenix Suns faced the New Orleans Pelicans and walked away with a win by a score of 111-86 in their last game. Phoenix wrapped up the game having earned a 44.0% field goal percentage (37 out of 84) and knocked down 19 of their 47 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Suns made 18 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 94.7%. In reference to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 43 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 24 assists for the matchup as well as earning 7 steals and 4 blocked shots. When discussing the defense, Phoenix allowed the other team to go 48.1% from the field on 37 out of 77 shooting. New Orleans recorded 18 dimes and had 8 steals for the game. Additionally, the Pelicans had 41 rebounds (7 offensive, 34 defensive) and earned 3 blocked shots. New Orleans finished shooting 50.0% when shooting free throws by burying 9 of 18 attempts. They also buried 3 of their 24 shots from 3-point range.

Jae Crowder is one player who was a factor for this contest. He walked away with 21 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 20:59 minutes and also grabbed 2 rebounds. Crowder finished shooting 54.5% from the floor and also distributed 2 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in this matchup for the Suns was Cameron Johnson. He pulled down 2 rebounds and earned 2 assists. He finished the contest at 46.2% from the floor in this contest by shooting 6-of-13 (18 points). When the final whistle blew, Johnson played for 22:23 min.

Phoenix steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 3-1 so far this season. They turn the ball over 12.8 times per contest and as a unit they commit 21.8 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Phoenix is pulling in 43.8 boards per game and has earned 104 assists for the season, which ranks 6th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Suns are shooting 35.3% from downtown (55 of 156) and 81.4% from the charity stripe. They average 109.0 pts per game (21st in the NBA) while connecting on 45.6% from the field. On the defensive end, the Suns are able to force 15.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 8th in the league in giving up assists with 76 surrendered for the year. The Suns defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 45.7% (63 of 82) and they concede 43.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They are conceding 25.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 1st in the NBA in points per game allowed (98.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Utah Jazz got the victory with a final of 110-109 when they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz corralled 35 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 43 in this matchup. They also stuffed 6 shots while recording 9 steals in this matchup. The Thunder were called for 16 fouls in the game which got the Jazz to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a rate of 78.6%. When it comes to shooting from downtown, Utah made 13 of their 36 tries (36.1%). When all was said and done, the Jazz ended up going 43 out of 86 from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0%. The Jazz permitted the Thunder to convert 40 out of 86 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 46.5% in the game. They wrapped up this game 39.5% from distance by shooting 15 of 38 and ended up shooting 14 out of 19 from the charity stripe (73.7%). When talking about attacking the glass, Utah permitted Oklahoma City to snag 37 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Bojan Bogdanović pitched in for the Jazz in the game. He converted 8 of 17 in the game giving him a rate of 47.1%, which got him 23 points. Bogdanović collected 3 boards in his 34:44 mins of time on the court and totaled 2 dimes in this contest. One more player that played a role for Utah was Donovan Mitchell. He notched 20 points in 34:47 minutes played by way of 8 of 23 from the floor for this game. Mitchell wrapped this one up going 34.8% from the floor as well as collecting 5 assists and 2 total rebounds.

Utah has a win-loss mark of 2-1 on the year. Utah has accounted for 341 points on the year (113.7 per contest) and they pull down 53.3 boards per contest. The Jazz are committing 18.3 fouls per game and they go 78.6% from the free throw line. In terms of offensive execution, the Jazz are connecting on 44.5% from the floor, which ranks them 22nd in the league. They are dishing out assists 21.0 times per contest (28th in basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 15.7 times per contest. The Jazz defensively are ranked 8th in the NBA in points given up per game with 108.3. They allow 21.7 dimes and 39.0 rebounds per game, which ranks them 3rd and 1st in basketball. The Utah defense concedes 40.0% on shots from distance (40 of 100) and opponents are knocking down 75.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing 11.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (4th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Phoenix (+4)

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