Utah Jazz vs New Orleans Pelicans Prediction, 12/28/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Utah Jazz vs New Orleans Pelicans

Date: Thursday, December 28, 2023

Location: Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, LA

TV: Bally Sports New Orleans

The Utah Jazz (13-18) are traveling to Smoothie King Center on Thursday where they will go up against the New Orleans Pelicans (17-14).

The Jazz played the Spurs and notched a win by a score of 130-118 in their last contest. Utah wrapped up the game with a 49.5% FG percentage (47 of 95) and made 16 of 43 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Jazz knocked down 20 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 90.9%. Pertaining to hauling in boards, they earned 53 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 34 dimes in the game as well as forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and getting 4 steals. When it comes to defending, Utah allowed the other team to shoot 44.9% from the floor on 44 out of 98 shooting. San Antonio totaled 36 dimes and had 8 steals for the matchup. On top of that, San Antonio grabbed 43 boards (13 offensive, 30 defensive) and added 7 blocked shots. San Antonio finished the game shooting 66.7% from the free throw line by burying 14 of their 21 tries. They made 16 out of their 35 shots from 3-point land. In reference to personal fouls, the Jazz ended up walking away with 21 while the Spurs racked up 18 personal fouls.

Lauri Markkanen is one player who played a role in the matchup. Markkanen finished the game at 70.6% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 31 mins and collected 12 boards. He notched 31 points on 12 of 17 shooting.

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Utah heads into this game with a mark of 13-18 for the campaign. They turn it over 16.6 times per contest and as a team they commit 19.7 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Utah is grabbing 46.2 boards per contest and has totaled 844 assists for the year, which has them ranked 4th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. The Jazz are connecting on 35.7% on shots from beyond the arc (413 of 1,156) and 82.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 113.5 points per game (19th in the league) while connecting on 45.7% from the floor.

On defense, the Jazz have forced 13.0 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are giving up 38.1% on 3-point attempts and they rank 24th in the league in PPG allowed (119.3). The Jazz defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.2% (1,371 of 2,842) and they concede 42.4 boards per game as a team. They currently rank 30th in the league in allowing assists with 887 relinquished this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pelicans went home defeated by a final of 116-115 when they faced the Grizzlies. The Pelicans snagged 36 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 46 for the contest. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while getting 12 steals in this matchup. The Grizzlies were called for 24 fouls in the matchup which got the Pelicans to the charity stripe for 33 attempts. They were able to knock down 21 of the free throw tries for a rate of 63.6%. When discussing shots from downtown, New Orleans buried 10 out of their 31 attempts (32.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Pelicans finished the game shooting 42 for 97 from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.3%. The Pelicans permitted the Grizzlies to make 39 out of their 90 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 43.3% for the game. They finished the game shooting 23.9% from three-point range by connecting on 11 of 46 and finished the game at 27 of 32 at the charity stripe (84.4%). In relation to rebounding, New Orleans allowed Memphis to pull down 50 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Brandon Ingram was important for the Pelicans for the contest. Ingram totaled 24 points in his 42 mins of playing time and had 7 assists in this game. He buried 9 out of 20 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 45.0%, and had 6 rebounds.

New Orleans has a win-loss record of 17-14 on the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Pelicans are shooting 48.0% from the field, which is 11th in the NBA. New Orleans has accumulated 3,586 points on the year (115.7 per contest) and they pull in 44.4 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 26.1 times per game (12th in the league) and they cough up possession 13.6 times per contest. The Pelicans are responsible for committing 20.1 fouls per game and they hit 76.2% from the free throw line.

The Pelicans are ranked 13th in the NBA in PPG surrendered with 113.4. They are forcing 14.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 46.4% from the field (13th in the NBA). The New Orleans defense gives up 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (415 of 1,220) and opponents are converting on 77.5% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 26.9 dimes and 43.8 total boards per game, which ranks them 21st and 17th in the NBA.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take New Orleans and under the total points

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