Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz Prediction, 1/18/2024 Preview and Pick

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024

Location: Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT

TV: KJZZ

The Utah Jazz (22-20) will play the Oklahoma City Thunder (27-13) at Delta Center on Thursday.

The Thunder took the court against the Clippers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 128-117 in their last contest. Oklahoma City finished the game having earned a 50.6% FG percentage (42 of 83) and converted 16 of 34 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Thunder buried 17 of 20 tries for a rate of 85.0%. With regard to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 30 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of defense, Oklahoma City allowed the other team to go 54.0% from the field on 47 out of 87 shooting. Los Angeles totaled 30 assists and had 5 steals for the game. On top of that, Los Angeles snagged 39 rebounds (12 offensive, 27 defensive) and had 5 blocks. Los Angeles finished the contest at 60.9% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of 23 shots. They also converted 20 out of their 43 tries from long range. Concerning fouls, the Thunder finished with 19 and the Clippers racked up 18 fouls.

Jalen Williams is someone who played a role in the game. Williams finished the game at 71.4% from the floor and totaled 7 assists. He played for 33 mins and grabbed 3 rebounds. He was able to score 25 points on 10 out of 14 shooting.

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Oklahoma City steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 27-13 for the year. They are averaging 121.9 points per outing (3rd in the NBA) while connecting on 50.5% from the floor. The Thunder are hitting 39.1% on shots from beyond the arc (529 of 1,352) and 83.9% from the free throw line. As a team, Oklahoma City is grabbing 41.1 boards per contest and is sitting with 1,094 assists this year, which has them ranked 10th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.5 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.0 personal fouls per contest.

When they are on the defensive end, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 15.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 fouls. They are relinquishing 35.7% from 3-point land while they are 14th in the NBA in points per game from their opponents (113.7). The Thunder defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.7% (1,608 of 3,595) and they surrender 45.2 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 18th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,076 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Jazz got the win with a final of 132-105 when they played the Pacers. In relation to team rebounding, Utah permitted Indiana to snag 43 overall (18 on the offensive glass). They finished 29.0% from distance by going 9 out of 31 and finished the game at 20 out of 25 at the free throw line (80.0%). The Jazz allowed the Pacers to convert 38 of 95 tries from the field which had them sitting at 40.0% in this matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Jazz finished 45 for 81 from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.6%. With respect to shooting from 3-point land, Utah made 11 of their 25 tries (44.0%). They were able to bury 31 of the free throw tries for a clip of 88.6%. The Pacers earned 31 fouls for the matchup which took the Jazz to the free throw line for 35 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 14 times, while earning 5 steals for the game. The Jazz were able to pull down 36 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 46 in this matchup.

Lauri Markkanen was important for the Jazz in this matchup. Markkanen had 32 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and earned 3 assists for the matchup. He converted 10 of 15 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 66.7%, and had 10 rebounds.

Utah has a mark of 22-20 on the season. When it comes to offense, the Jazz are hitting on 46.8% from the field, which has them ranked 19th in basketball. Utah has 4,905 pts on the year (116.8 per game) and they pull in 46.6 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 28.0 times per game (7th in the league) and they are turning it over 16.1 times per game. The Jazz commit 19.6 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 82.4% from the charity stripe.

The Utah defense gives up 37.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (588 of 1,561) and opponents are connecting on 77.4% of their foul shots. They have allowed 28.3 assists and 41.9 boards per contest, ranking them 28th and 7th in the league. The Jazz on defense are ranked 22nd in the league in points per game surrendered with 118.2. They have forced 13.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.5% from the field (19th in the NBA).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City

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