Utah Jazz vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 12/23/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Jazz vs Portland Blazers

Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

Odds/Point Spread: Utah (+1.5)

The Utah Jazz (44-28 last year) are headed to Moda Center on Wednesday where they'll take on the Portland Blazers (35-39 last season). The spread on this contest has Portland as 1.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 229.

Utah will enter this game after finishing with a record of 44-28 last year. The Jazz connected on 38.0% on three-point shots (963 of 2,537) and 77.9% from the free throw line. They averaged 111.3 points per game (18th in the league) while hitting 47.1% from the field. They lost possession by turning the ball over 15.1 times per contest and as a team committed 20.4 personal fouls per game. As a squad, Utah pulled in 44.9 boards per game and tallied 1,615 assists over the course of last year, which was 20th in the NBA in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Jazz forced their opponents into 12.3 turnovers per contest while drawing 20.8 personal fouls. They relinquished 35.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they were ranked 9th in the NBA in points per game allowed (108.8). The Jazz defense gave up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.7% (2,930 of 6,417) and they conceded 42.7 boards per contest as a basketball team. They were ranked 1st in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,548 relinquished throughout last season.

The Utah Jazz faced off with the Denver Nuggets and ended up losing by a score of 80-78 in their last contest. Utah walked away from the contest with a 38.0% field goal percentage (30 of 79) and buried 8 out of their 34 3-point shots. At the free throw line, the Jazz converted 10 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. In terms of grabbing boards, they earned a total of 48 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 16 assists in the game while having 6 steals and 3 rejections. Pertaining to defending, Utah let their opponent shoot 37.3% from the floor on 31 of 83. Denver dished out 21 dimes and 7 steals for the game. Furthurmore, the Nuggets totaled 46 rebounds (8 offensive, 38 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Denver finished 76.9% when shooting free throws by converting 10 of their 13 shots. They also buried 8 of their 31 tries from 3-point land.

Donovan Mitchell is someone who saw a lot of minutes in this contest. He finished with 22 points on 9 out of 22 shooting. He saw the court for 42:53 and snagged 9 rebounds. Mitchell ended up shooting 40.9% from the field and totaled 2 dimes. One more player that had an impact in the game for the Jazz was Rudy Gobert. He snagged 18 boards and also collected 2 assists. He finished the game shooting 61.5% from the field in this game by shooting 8-of-13 (19 points). When the final whistle blew, Gobert saw the court for 41:40.

Portland had a record of 35-39 last season. Portland had 8,508 pts throughout last season (115.0 per contest) and they grabbed 45.3 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Blazers connected on 46.3% from the floor, which ranked them 14th in the league. The Blazers committed 21.7 fouls per game and they went 80.4% from the charity stripe. They assisted teammates 20.6 times per contest (30th in basketball) and they lost possession by turning the ball over 12.8 times per contest. The Blazers defensively were ranked 26th in the league in points allowed per game with 116.1. The Portland defense conceded 38.3% on 3-point attempts (1,003 of 2,619) and their opponents connected on 77.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They were able to force 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (11th in the league). They allowed 24.9 dimes and 46.9 total rebounds per game, which had them ranked 19th and 27th in those defensive categories.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Portland Blazers went home defeated by a final of 131-122 against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Blazers were able to pull down 33 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 43 for the game. They also blocked 2 shots while getting 12 steals for this game. The Lakers were called for 20 fouls for the matchup which took the Blazers to the charity stripe for 26 attempts. They were able to make 21 of those for a percentage of 80.8%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Portland made 13 out of their 27 tries (48.1%). When the final whistle was blown, the Blazers went 44 for 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.3%. The Blazers allowed the Lakers to bury 48 of 88 attempts from the field which left them shooting 54.5% in this contest. They finished 38.9% from beyond the arc by hitting 14 of 36 and ended up going 21 of 26 at the free throw line (80.8%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, Portland permitted Los Angeles to grab 41 in total (7 offensive).

CJ McCollum ended up being important for the Blazers for the matchup. He converted 13 out of 25 in this game for a field goal percentage of 52.0%, which earned him 36 points. McCollum snagged 6 boards in his 46:04 of time on the hardwood and accumulated 7 dimes in this contest. One more player that played a role for Portland was Carmelo Anthony. He ended up finishing with 27 points in his 40:08 played via 9 out of 16 from the floor in the game. Anthony ended the game having shot 56.3% from the field while also collecting 2 assists and 7 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland (-1.5)

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