Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 12/14/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: ROOT Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers (6-16) will go up against the Utah Jazz (7-16) at Moda Center on Thursday.

The Jazz played the Thunder and took a loss by a final of 134-120 in their last contest. Utah walked away from the contest having earned a 47.8% FG percentage (44 out of 92) and made 12 out of their 38 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Jazz made 20 of 21 shots for a percentage of 95.2%. In the matter of pulling down rebounds, they earned 41 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 32 assists for the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 9 steals. In reference to defense, Utah allowed their opponent to shoot 52.1% from the field on 50 out of 96 shooting. Oklahoma City totaled 35 dimes and had 9 steals for the game. Furthermore, Oklahoma City snagged 39 rebounds (7 offensive, 32 defensive) and had 9 rejections. Oklahoma City ended up going 94.1% when shooting free throws by knocking down 16 of their 17 attempts. They also made 18 of 38 shots from beyond the perimeter. When discussing fouls, the Jazz finished with 21 and the Thunder had 17 fouls.

Keyonte George is someone who was important for the matchup. George finished the game at 58.8% from the floor and recorded 7 assists. He was on the court for 33 mins and snagged 3 rebounds. He scored 30 points on 10 out of 17 shooting.

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Utah comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 7-16 this year. They currently have an average of 111.3 pts per game (23rd in the NBA) while going 44.7% from the field. The Jazz are shooting 34.9% on shots from 3-point land (303 of 869) and 81.1% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Utah is pulling in 46.5 boards per game and has racked up 609 dimes this season, which is 9th in the league in terms of passing. They turn it over 17.7 times per game and as a group they are committing 20.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Jazz have forced 12.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.5 personal fouls. They surrender 37.7% from beyond the arc and they are 25th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (120.3). The Jazz defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 48.9% (1,025 of 2,096) and they surrender 42.2 boards per contest as a unit. They rank 27th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 646 relinquished on the year.

For their last game, the Trail Blazers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 132-127 against the Clippers. The Trail Blazers earned 25 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the game. They gave up possession of the ball 12 times, while getting 5 steals for the game. The Clippers had 20 fouls for this game which took the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 26 tries. They were able to make 22 of them for a rate of 84.6%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Portland knocked down 19 out of their 40 attempts (47.5%). In all, the Trail Blazers ended up shooting 43 out of 90 from the field which had them at 47.8%. The Trail Blazers permitted the Clippers to knock down 49 of 89 attempts from the field which had them shooting 55.1% for the game. They finished shooting 38.2% from 3-point land by shooting 13 of 34 and walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 22 at the free throw line (95.5%). When it comes to rebounding, Portland permitted Los Angeles to get 35 overall (9 offensive).

Anfernee Simons ended up being a major contributor for the Trail Blazers in this contest. He converted 10 of 23 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 43.5%, and totaled 1 rebound. Simons accumulated 38 points in his 38 minutes on the court and had 4 dimes for the matchup.

Portland has a win-loss record of 6-16 so far this season. The Trail Blazers commit 21.0 fouls per game and they hit 80.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 22.0 times per contest (30th in basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 15.8 times per contest. Portland has accounted for 2,343 points on the campaign (106.5 per game) and they grab 40.7 boards per game. As an offense, the Trail Blazers are connecting on 43.3% from the floor, which ranks them 30th in the league.

The Portland defense allows 33.0% on 3-pointers (233 of 705) and opponents are converting on 81.2% of their foul shots. They give up 26.1 dimes and 45.2 boards per game, which ranks 15th and 25th in the NBA. The Trail Blazers defensively are ranked 15th in the NBA in points allowed per contest with 113.3. They are able to force 16.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 48.4% from the floor (22nd in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Utah

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