Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 12/17/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Clippers

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: NBA League Pass

Odds/Point Spread: Utah (+3)

The Utah Jazz (44-28 last year) head to STAPLES Center on Thursday where they'll take on the Los Angeles Clippers (49-23 last season). Utah opens this contest as 3-point dogs. The total opens at 220.

Utah will play this game after finishing with a record of 44-28 last year. They turned the ball over 15.1 times per contest and as a group committed 20.4 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Utah collected 44.9 rebounds per game and accounted for 1,615 dimes last season, which ranked 20th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Jazz hit on 38.0% on three-point attempts (963 of 2,537) and 77.9% from the charity stripe. They averaged 111.3 points per contest (18th in the league) while hitting 47.1% from the field. Defensively, the Jazz forced 12.3 turnovers every game while drawing 20.8 personal fouls. They conceded 35.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they ranked 9th in basketball in points per game allowed (108.8). The Jazz defense gave up a shooting percentage of 45.7% (2,930 of 6,417) and they surrendered 42.7 boards per game as a squad. They were ranked 1st in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,548 conceded last season.

The Utah Jazz faced the Phoenix Suns and took a loss by a final of 111-92 in their last preseason game. Utah ended with a 42.7% field goal percentage (32 out of 75) and knocked down 12 out of their 39 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Jazz knocked down 35 of their 41 shots for a rate of 85.4%. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they earned 54 with 9 of them being offensive. They also doled out 18 dimes in this game as well as earning 6 steals and 2 rejections. With regard to defending, Utah allowed the other team to go 42.0% from the floor on 37 out of 88. Phoenix recorded 16 dimes and 10 steals for the contest. On top of that, the Suns grabbed 37 rebounds (2 offensive, 35 defensive) and earned 3 blocked shots. Phoenix ended up shooting 66.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 10 of 15 attempts. They knocked down 8 out of their 28 attempts from beyond the arc.

Los Angeles had a win-loss record of 49-23 last season. As an offensive team, the Clippers hit 46.6% from the field, which had them ranked 12th in the league. Los Angeles scored 8,377 pts over the course of last season (116.3 per contest) and they grabbed 47.7 boards per contest. They dished out assists 23.7 times per contest (22nd in basketball) and they coughed up possession 14.6 times per game. The Clippers committed 22.1 personal fouls per contest and they hit 79.1% from the charity stripe. The Clippers defensively were ranked 13th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 109.9. They were able to force 14.1 TO's per game and let teams shoot 43.8% from the field (3rd in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense gave up 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (886 of 2,566) and opponents connected on 75.6% of their foul shots. They allowed 23.7 assists and 45.3 rebounds per game, which was ranked 9th and 18th in the NBA.

The last time they took the hardwood in the preseason, the Los Angeles Clippers took a defeat with a final score of 131-106 when they played the Los Angeles Lakers. The Clippers earned 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 34 in the matchup. They blocked 4 tries while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Lakers were called for 14 fouls in this game which got the Clippers to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw tries for a rate of 70.8%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Los Angeles made 33 of their 35 tries (94.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Clippers went 39 out of 84 from the floor which gave them a rate of 46.4%. The Clippers allowed the Lakers to convert 46 of 81 tries from the field which had them at 56.8% in this contest. They finished 72.0% from three-point range by connecting on 18 out of 25 and ended up going 21 out of 31 at the free throw line (67.7%). When discussing how they rebounded, Los Angeles allowed Los Angeles to pull down 45 in total (9 offensive).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah (+3)

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