The San Antonio Spurs will look to take care of their own business and get some help when they face the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The Spurs (32-38) finish their bubble slate as they vie for a spot in the Western Conference play-in game. San Antonio must win and hope two from a group of teams — Phoenix, Memphis and Portland — lose their final game to allow the Spurs to qualify as the eighth or ninth seed. All four teams are within one-half game of one another and separated by .009 percentage points.
Tip-off from HP Field House in Orlando, Fla., is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Spurs lead the all-time series 108-83, and have won all three meetings this season, including a 119-111 victory on Friday in the Orlando bubble. William Hill lists San Antonio as the eight-point favorite, while the over-under is set at 231 in the Jazz vs. Spurs odds. Before making any Spurs vs. Jazz picks, see the NBA predictions from SportsLine’s advanced computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it’s already returned well over $4,700 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks this season. It entered the week on a blistering 58-32 run on top-rated NBA spread picks, returning almost $2,300 on those picks alone. Amazingly, it hasn’t missed a single top-rated pick (5-0) since the NBA’s restart in July. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Spurs vs. Jazz. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NBA odds from William Hill and trends for Jazz vs. Spurs:
- Spurs vs. Jazz spread: Spurs -8
- Spurs vs. Jazz over-under: 231 points
- Suns vs. Mavericks money line: Spurs -345, Jazz +285
- SAS: The Spurs are 8-20 ATS when favored
- UTAH: The Jazz have covered just one time in their last 13 games following a loss
Why the Spurs can cover
San Antonio has had no trouble scoring in Orlando. In fact, in its last meeting with Utah on Friday, all five Spurs starters scored in double figures. San Antonio is averaging a franchise-best 10.7 3-pointers made and 28.6 3-point attempts per game this season. The Spurs also take care of the basketball and lead the league in fewest turnovers per game (12.6) and have turned the ball over 10 or fewer times in 23 games, tied for the third-most such games in the NBA.
Guard-forward DeMar DeRozan continues to lead San Antonio in scoring this season at 22.1 points per game. He is also averaging 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds. Since the restart, DeRozan has scored 23 or more points in four of seven games, including a 30-point effort against the Philadelphia 76ers on Aug. 3. In three games against the Jazz this season, DeRozan is averaging 23 points, 5.7 assists and four rebounds. His production has been steady throughout his career and in 22 games vs. Utah, he has hit for 21 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Why the Jazz can cover
Despite that, San Antonio isn’t a lock to cover the Spurs vs. Jazz spread. That’s because Utah is looking to build some momentum for the playoffs. The Jazz have lost three straight and are just 2-5 in the Orlando bubble. Despite losing the season series to San Antonio, the Jazz have split the last 10 games in the series, including winning the two previous season series.
Offensively, the Jazz are led by guard Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He missed Monday’s game with a leg strain but is expected back into the lineup against the Spurs. In his last game against Denver on Saturday, Mitchell scored 35 points, hitting five 3-pointers. In seven career games against San Antonio, he has put up some big numbers and is averaging 24.7 points per game.
How to make Spurs vs. Jazz picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning under on the total, with just one player for either team reaching 20 points in the simulations. The model also says one side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Spurs vs. Jazz? And which side of the spread hits in almost 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Jazz vs. Spurs spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $4,700 on its top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
