Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 4/17/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

Odds/Point Spread: Utah (-10.5)

STAPLES Center is the venue where and the Los Angeles Lakers (34-22) will play the Utah Jazz (41-14) on Saturday. The odds on this contest have Utah as 10.5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 219.

The Utah Jazz took the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder and took home the win by a score of 106-96 in their last contest. Utah finished having earned a 41.9% field goal percentage (36 out of 86) and made 17 out of their 47 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Jazz made 17 of 20 tries for a rate of 85.0%. With regard to pulling down boards, they earned 51 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 24 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With regard to the defense, Utah allowed the other team to shoot 38.7% from the field on 36 out of 93 shooting. Oklahoma City earned 13 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. In addition, Oklahoma City snagged 50 rebounds (15 offensive, 35 defensive) and added 10 blocks. Oklahoma City went 55.6% from the charity stripe by converting 10 of 18 shots. They buried 14 out of their 34 tries from distance.

Bojan Bogdanovic is a guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. He walked away with 23 points on 6 out of 14 shooting. He was on the court for 35:42 minutes played and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Bogdanovic ended up going 42.9% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist. Someone else that was a determining factor in this matchup for the Jazz was Donovan Mitchell. He had 4 rebounds in 33:01 minutes on the court. He finished 43.8% from the field for the contest by going 7-of-16 (22 points). When this game wrapped up, Mitchell earned 3 assists.

Utah heads into this contest with a record of 41-14 for the campaign. The Jazz are shooting 38.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (923 of 2,370) and 79.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 117.0 points per game (3rd in the NBA) while going 46.6% from the floor. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.8 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 18.8 fouls every game. As a team, Utah is grabbing 48.3 boards per contest and has 1,287 dimes this season, which has them ranked 23rd in basketball in terms of passing. On defense, the Jazz have forced 11.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 personal fouls. They rank 2nd in basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,217 conceded on the year. The Jazz are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.6% (626 of 1,072) and they concede 43.2 boards per contest as a basketball team. They are giving up 34.4% on 3-point attempts and they rank 4th in basketball in points per game allowed (107.5).

The last time they took the court, the Los Angeles Lakers went home defeated by a final of 121-113 when they faced the Boston Celtics. The Lakers recorded 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the matchup. They gave up possession 8 times, while recording 12 steals for the contest. The Celtics committed 20 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Lakers to the free throw line for 19 tries. They were able to bury 13 of those for a percentage of 68.4%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Los Angeles knocked down 12 of 37 tries (32.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Lakers finished shooting 44 for 98 from the field which had them at 44.9%. The Lakers permitted the Celtics to make 48 of their 85 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 56.5% for this game. They went 43.8% from downtown by connecting on 14 out of 32 and ended up shooting 11 of 13 at the free throw line (84.6%). When talking about rebounding, Los Angeles allowed Boston to get 48 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Marc Gasol was important for the Lakers for this game. He converted 7 of 10 in the game giving him a rate of 70.0%, and had 4 rebounds. Gasol racked up 18 points in his 20:54 mins of playing time and tallied 3 dimes in this game. An additional guy who was a determining factor for Los Angeles was Kyle Kuzma. He left the arena with 1 assist in 29:04 mins on the hardwood, and he converted 5 out of 14 from the floor. Kuzma finished going 35.7% from the field while earning 13 points and 2 total rebounds.

Los Angeles has a record of 34-22 this year. The Lakers have committed 19.1 personal fouls per game and they go 74.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 24.6 times per game (15th in basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.6 times per contest. Los Angeles has accounted for 6,151 points on the season (109.8 per game) and they average 44.6 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are shooting 47.4% from the field, which ranks them 10th in the NBA. The Lakers on the defensive end are ranked 2nd in the NBA in points given up per game with 105.9. They allow 24.6 dimes and 42.2 rebounds every game, ranking them 13th and 5th in the league. The Los Angeles defense allows 34.5% on three-point shots (626 of 1,815) and their opponents are converting on 76.9% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 15.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 45.5% from the floor (7th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah (-10.5)

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