NBA Free Pick – Saturday January 22, 2011
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Utah Jazz @ Philadelphia 76ers
Saturday, January 22, 2011 at 7:30 pm EST on NBA TV
The Utah Jazz continues their East Coast road trip when they pay a visit to the Wells Fargo Center this Saturday night to take on the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off for this one is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.
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Utah is looking to salvage what it can from this trip after losing to Washington 108-101 this past Monday as a 4 ½-point road favorite and to New Jersey 103-95 as a 6 ½-point road favorite this past Wednesday.
The Jazz is currently a six-point road underdog heading into Friday night’s game against Boston and face the LA Lakers and San Antonio after this game, so a win against the Sixers becomes all that more urgent to keep pace with Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division. Utah is currently tied with the Thunder at 27-15 straight-up and is 20-21-1 ATS.
Derron Williams continues to lead the Jazz with an average of 22.1 points per game. His 9.5 assists per game is the fourth-best average in the league. Al Jefferson leads the team in rebounds with 8.8 per game and is averaging 16.9 points, while Paul Millsap is pulling down 7.9 boards per game and averaging 17.2 points.
Utah is ranked 11th in the league in scoring with an average of 100.8 points per game and giving up 98.7 points. The Jazz remain one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA with an average of just 38.7 a game which is a -2.33 disadvantage against their opponents.
Philadelphia has been playing .500 ball lately with four wins in its last eight games, but is coming off two tough losses in games it had an excellent chance to win. First, the 76ers lost to Orlando 99-98 in OT on Wednesday night as a nine-point road underdog and then dropped a 100-97 decision to Charlotte as a 4 ½-point road underdog. Those two losses left Philadelphia at 17-25 SU for the year, but raised its record ATS to 26-15-1. They also fell to ninth place in the Eastern Conference; a half game behind Indiana.
It has been a total team effort for the Sixers this season with all five starters scoring in double-figures led by Elton Brand’s 14.7 points and Jrue Holiday’s 14.6. Brand also leads the team in rebounds with 8.7 per game and Holiday leads in assists with 6.6. Andre Iguodala has also been a key contributor with 14 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists a game, making him one of the more versatile players in the league.
Philadelphia is averaging 97 points a game, while holding the opposition to 97.6 points. It has also remained closed matched in rebounds with an average of 42.1 per game while allowing 42.7. One thing this team has done a good job at this season is finding ways to keep the game close until the end, win or lose.
Utah is 1-4 ATS in its last five games on the road and 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of its last eight games.
Philadelphia is 2-3 ATS in its last five home games and 4-4 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of its last 10 games.
The last time these two teams met in Philadelphia was in November of 2009 with the Jazz rolling to a 112-90 victory as a three-point road underdog, but do expect things to be nearly as easy for Utah this time around. While the ‘over’ might be the best play in this game, stick with the Jazz in a tight three or four point win.
The odds makers have the Philadelphia 76ers as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 198.
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Utah Jazz Betting Trends:
- Utah is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of Utah’s last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah’s last 7 games on the road
- Utah is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
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