Portland Blazers vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 4/8/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Blazers vs Utah Jazz

Date: Thursday, April 8, 2021

Location: Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: AT&T Sportsnet - Roc

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+7.5)

Vivint Arena is the site where and the Utah Jazz (38-12) will play the Portland Blazers (30-20) on Thursday. Portland opens this contest as 7.5-point underdogs. The total has been set at 231.5.

The Portland Blazers stepped onto the hardwood against the Los Angeles Clippers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 133-116 in their last game. Portland finished the game having earned a 40.2% FG percentage (37 out of 92) and buried 11 of their 36 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Blazers buried 31 of 37 attempts for a rate of 83.8%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they compiled 48 with 14 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 18 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When talking about defense, Portland let their opponent shoot 51.7% from the floor on 46 out of 89 shooting. Los Angeles earned 24 assists and had 5 steals for this game. Additionally, Los Angeles grabbed 48 rebounds (8 offensive, 40 defensive) and had 5 rejections. Los Angeles went 83.3% when shooting free throws by burying 25 of 30 shots. They also buried 16 of their 41 shots from downtown.

Norman Powell is someone who was a factor in this game. He accounted for 32 points on 8 out of 18 shooting. He played 37:25 minutes and snagged 4 rebounds. Powell finished the game at 44.4% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. Someone else that was a major factor in this matchup for the Blazers was CJ McCollum. He snagged 3 rebounds in his 37:24 min played. He ended up going 60.0% from the field for the contest by shooting 9-of-15 (24 points). When all was said and done, McCollum had accumulated 6 assists.

Portland will play this game with a mark of 30-20 on the season. They are averaging 115.2 pts per game (5th in the league) while going 44.6% from the field. The Blazers are hitting 38.2% on 3-pointers (812 of 2,124) and 83.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Portland is snagging 43.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 1,019 assists this season, which is 30th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.3 times per game and as a group are committing 19.3 fouls on a nightly basis. On defense, the Blazers are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers every game while drawing 18.9 personal fouls. They currently rank 19th in basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,260 relinquished for the campaign. The Blazers are giving up a field goal percentage of 48.0% (646 of 944) and they relinquish 45.9 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are conceding 37.3% on shots from downtown while they are 27th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (115.2).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Utah Jazz walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-103 against the Dallas Mavericks. The Jazz snagged 34 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 48 in the matchup. They gave up possession 8 times, while earning 3 steals for the contest. The Mavericks committed 18 personal fouls for this game which got the Jazz to the charity stripe for 22 attempts. They were able to convert 17 of them for a clip of 77.3%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, Utah buried 12 of 44 attempts (27.3%). In all, the Jazz ended up going 37 for 88 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.0%. The Jazz allowed the Mavericks to knock down 41 of 91 tries from the field which had them shooting 45.1% for this game. They shot 46.9% from three-point range by hitting 23 of 49 and ended up going 6 out of 8 from the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, Utah permitted Dallas to collect 44 overall (10 offensive).

Mike Conley was important for the Jazz for the contest. He buried 8 of 13 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and totaled 3 rebounds. Conley scored 28 points in his 31:24 mins of playing time and added 7 assists for the contest. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Utah was Donovan Mitchell. He left the arena with 4 assists in 34:58 minutes played, and he knocked down 6 of 23 from the floor. Mitchell wrapped this one up going 26.1% from the floor while also earning 16 points and 5 rebounds.

Utah has a win-loss record of 38-12 this season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Jazz are shooting 46.8% from the field, which is ranked 14th in the NBA. Utah has 5,844 pts so far this year (116.9 per game) and they pull down 48.2 boards per contest. They are dishing out assists 23.7 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they are turning it over 14.0 times per game. The Jazz commit 18.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 78.9% from the charity stripe. The Jazz defensively are ranked 3rd in the NBA in points given up per game with 107.2. The Utah defense gives up 34.4% on 3-pointers (532 of 1,545) and their opponents are connecting on 77.5% of their foul shots. They allow 22.3 dimes and 42.8 boards per game, which ranks 2nd and 10th in basketball. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 44.7% from the field (2nd in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Portland (+7.5)

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