Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction, 12/28/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Jazz vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: Monday, December 28, 2020

Location: Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Odds/Point Spread: Utah (-5.5)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) host the Utah Jazz (1-1) at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday. Oklahoma City opens this matchup as 5.5-point underdogs. The total is set at 221.5.

The Utah Jazz stepped onto the hardwood against the Minnesota Timberwolves and went home with a loss by a final score of 116-111 in their last game. Utah ended with a 38.3% FG percentage (36 of 94) and knocked down 10 of 34 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Jazz knocked down 29 of their 37 attempts for a rate of 78.4%. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they earned a total of 58 with 20 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 15 dimes in this contest in addition to earning 5 steals and 4 blocked shots. Regarding defending, Utah allowed the other team to go 44.6% from the floor on 45 out of 101 shooting. Minnesota doled out 21 assists and had 9 steals for this game. Moreover, the Timberwolves had 40 rebounds (12 offensive, 28 defensive) and got 5 blocked shots. Minnesota finished the contest at 72.2% from the free throw line by converting 13 of their 18 shots. They also buried 13 of their 29 shots from long range.

Donovan Mitchell is one guy who came through in this contest. He ended up with 21 points on 6 out of 23 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37:16 minutes and also snagged 2 rebounds. Mitchell went 26.1% from the field and recorded 5 assists. One more player that was a determining factor in this game for the Jazz was Mike Conley. He had 6 boards and accumulated 4 assists. He ended up shooting 46.2% from the floor for this game by hitting 6-of-13 (20 points). When all was said and done, Conley was on the court for 33:33 minutes.

Utah enters this contest with a record of 1-1 on the season. They lose possession via turnover 15.0 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Utah is snagging 58.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 39 assists for the campaign, which is 27th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Jazz are hitting 34.5% on three-point attempts (29 of 84) and 78.6% from the free throw line. They average 115.5 pts per contest (11th in the league) while connecting on 42.0% from the floor. On defense, the Jazz are forcing 8.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 23.0 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 10th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 44 conceded for the campaign. The Jazz defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 42.5% (16 of 46) and they surrender 40.0 rebounds per contest as a group. They give up 40.3% on shots from downtown and they rank 9th in the league in opponents PPG (108.0).

When they last played, the Oklahoma City Thunder walked away with a victory by a final of 109-107 when they played the Charlotte Hornets. The Thunder were able to pull down 45 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards for a total of 54 for the matchup. They turned away 7 tries while earning 10 steals in the matchup. The Hornets committed 22 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Thunder to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to bury 19 of those for a rate of 79.2%. Concerning shots from downtown, Oklahoma City made 10 out of their 36 tries (27.8%). When all was said and done, the Thunder walked away from this one shooting 40 out of 88 from the field which gave them a percentage of 45.5%. The Thunder allowed the Hornets to convert 37 out of 93 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.8% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 40.6% from three-point range by connecting on 13 out of 32 and ended up shooting 20 out of 32 at the charity stripe (62.5%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Oklahoma City allowed Charlotte to snag 47 overall (13 on the offensive side).

Luguentz Dort pitched in for the Thunder for this game. He knocked down 5 of 12 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 41.7%, which had him finishing with 15 points. Dort grabbed 5 boards in his 34:34 mins of playing time and accounted for 2 assists for this game. An additional guy that played a role for Oklahoma City was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He ended up finishing with 24 points in his 34:22 mins on the court via 8 of 20 shooting in the game. Gilgeous-Alexander ended up shooting 40.0% from the field while also contributing 9 dimes and 7 total rebounds.

Oklahoma City has a record of 1-0 this season. Oklahoma City has accounted for 109 pts on the season and they collect 54 boards per game. The Thunder are responsible for committing 21 fouls every game and they go 79.2% from the free throw line. As an offensive team, the Thunder are connecting on 45.5% from the field, which has them ranked 18th in the league. They are assisting teammates 25 times per game (14th in the NBA) and they turn it over 17 times per contest. The Thunder on the defensive end are ranked 8th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 107.0. They have surrendered 27 dimes and 47 total rebounds per game, which ranks 21st and 16th in the NBA. The Oklahoma City defense gives up 40.6% on 3-point attempts (13 of 32) and their opposition makes 62.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 13 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.8% from the floor (2nd in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Utah (-5.5)

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