A pair of Northwest Division rivals and two of the hotter teams in the Western Conference are set to clash on Wednesday. The streaking Portland Trail Blazers and league-leading Utah Jazz will meet in the second nationally televised game of the evening. Both teams will be vying to finish strong and undoubtedly have their sights set on the fast-approaching NBA Postseason. The NBA betting odds have sided with the home team as a slim favorite as their pre-game Trail Blazers vs Jazz prediction.
Trail Blazers vs Jazz Game Info
Portland Trail Blazers (40-29, 21-13 Away) at Utah Jazz (50-19, 31-4 Home)
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Start Time: 9:30 p.m. EST
Venue: Vivint Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
Coverage: ESPN
Trail Blazers vs Jazz NBA Betting Odds
Moneyline: POR: (+105) | UTA: (-125)
Spread: POR: +2 (-115) | UTA: -2 (-105)
Total: 234 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
Trail Blazers vs Jazz NBA Betting Overview
Trail Blazers Outlook
The Trail Blazers enter tonight’s NBA betting showdown having won four straight games and eight of their last nine overall. A critical showdown against the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers last Friday saw Portland come away with a major win. That result combined with two more victories in the aftermath should be good enough for the Trail Blazers to lock down a top-six seed and avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament.
Although injuries have been a common theme that the Blazers have had to overcome this season, they are getting healthy at just the right time. Tonight’s pregame injury report is void of any big names. Trade deadline acquisition Norman Powell has fit right in with superstars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the backcourt. Meanwhile, center Jusuf Nurkic is proving just how talented he is now that he is fully healthy. This arguably one of the healthiest, most balanced teams Portland has taken into the postseason in some time.
Trail Blazers Injury Report
- Out: Zach Collins (ankle)
- Questionable: Nassir Little (back)
Jazz Outlook
Despite continuing to hold down the top record in the league, the Jazz are far from the NBA betting favorites when it comes to futures odds to win the NBA Finals. Even without Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley for the past several games, Utah has continued to fend off the pesky Phoenix Suns atop the Western Conference standings. Although it won’t happen tonight, both backcourt stars figure to be returning sooner than later with the NBA regular season concluding this weekend.
Jordan Clarkson has been phenomenal for Utah all season and is Of course, when the runaway favorite to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. Most recently, he dropped 41 points in a narrow road loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday. Frontcourt stalwart Rudy Gobert continues to be steady as well. Even with reduced attendance, the Jazz have a win-loss record of 31-4 when playing at home this season. Given that Utah is among those states allowing more freedoms these days, homecourt advantage throughout the postseason could mean more for the Jazz than most other teams. Keep their homecourt dominance in mind when making a Trail Blazers vs Jazz prediction for tonight’s game.
Jazz Injury Report
- Out: Donovan Mitchell (ankle), Mike Conley (hamstring), Juwan Morgan (heel)
Trail Blazers vs Jazz NBA Betting Trends
- Trail Blazers 2020-21 Betting Trends: 35-34 ATS; 37-32 to the Over
- Hawks 2020-21 Betting Trends: 39-30 ATS; 33-35-1 to the Over
- Trail Blazers are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games.
- The total has gone under in six of the Jazz’ last seven games against teams with a winning straight-up record.
- Under is 4-0 in the Trail Blazers’ last four games after allowing 125 points or more in their previous game.
Trail Blazers vs Jazz Statistics
- Portland is averaging 116.0 points per game (PPG) this season (No. 5 in the NBA)
- Portland is surrendering 114.5 PPG on the season (No. 23 in the NBA)
- Utah is averaging 116.7 PPG this season (No. 3 in the NBA)
- Utah is surrendering 107.5 PPG (No. 3 in the NBA)
Trail Blazers vs Jazz Prop Bet
Jordan Clarkson Under 31.5 Points + Rebounds + Assists (-110)
Jordan Clarkson put on one hell of a performance on Monday with his 41 points on a whopping 33 shots. While recency bias may drive many in the NBA betting community to automatically look over on Clarkson’s NBA odds and props for tonight’s game, perhaps the more intelligent strategy would be to bet on natural regression. After all, there’s no chance he takes that many shots again tonight, right? We’ll look to go contrarian and fade Clarkson as tonight’s Trail Blazers vs Jazz prediction.
It’s undeniable that the Trail Blazers aren’t the most competent team defensively in the NBA. A 23rd-ranked scoring defense should theoretically play right into Clarkson’s hands, given that he thrives as a scorer. However, with the Jazz backcourt still depleted, it’s reasonable to assume Portland will have a defensive game plan for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year favorite tonight. Furthermore, Clarkson is very inconsistent when it comes to rebounds and assists. Unless he reaches the upper 20s in points, having enough production in the other categories to clear the NBA betting line of 31.5 is far from a guarantee.
