The 44-20 Memphis Grizzlies will travel on a high altitude back in back in one of the most difficult situations in the NBA as they face the rested 33-32 Utah Jazz in an NBA pro basketball game on Saturday night. Tip off time from Utah is scheduled for 10PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by NBA TV.
The NBA odds from this pro basketball game have the home team Utah Jazz favored by -2 points with an over under line of 185 points. Early money has landed on Utah as the Jazz were made -1 ½ point betting favorites at the open.
This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams with Memphis winning and covering the point spread in both the home and away game.
Memphis has a road mark of 19-12 on the year. Their six game win streak was snapped on Friday in an 87-80 road defeat on Friday to the Denver Nuggets as a +5 ½ point underdog. The game finished under 195 points. Memphis chokes away a nine point lead after three quarters as they get outscored 29-14 in the fourth quarter by Denver. The Grizzlies shoot just 35.3% from the field and made 4 of 12 three pointers. They allowed Denver 45.5% shooting and a miserable 1 of 12 from three point distance. The Grizzlies pulled down five more rebounds than Denver and fails to take advantage due to extremely poor shooting. Zach Randolph led Memphis with 18 points and 18 rebounds on 6 of 14 from the floor. The Grizzlies defend very well this season by giving up just 84.4 points a game ranking first in the NBA in scoring defense. In the playoff picture the Grizzlies hold the third seed in the Western conference by a ½ game over the Clippers.
The Jazz are 23-8 on their home court. They lose for the eighth time in ten games after a 110-87 road defeat on Wednesday to the Oklahoma City Thunder as a +13 ½ point underdog. The game finished under 204 ½ points. Utah was held to 28 first half points in the loss. They shoot just 35% from the field and connected on 5 of 15 three pointers. The Jazz allowed 53.6% shooting to the Thunder and had 13 less rebounds than OKC. Utah was very sloppy in defeat with 20 turnovers. Gordon Hayward came off the bench for 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting. In the playoff chase for Jazz sit ½ game behind the LA Lakers for the eighth and final seed in the Western conference. Their struggles have come big time on the road and on defense. At home they average 100.7 points per game and connect on 46.5% of their shots.
