The season is right around the corner and the Utah Jazz have opened with +3000 odds for the 2020-21 NBA Championship. The experts here at SportsTips have taken the time to review every single NBA team and offer up their opinion on how each team is expected to perform in the 2020-21 season, meaning you can place your best NBA bets with confidence.
So, without further ado, have a read on below at all our NBA betting stats and information on the Utah Jazz:
Utah Jazz’s 2019-20 Season Review
The Utah Jazz are one of the more consistent teams in the league over the last few years, always good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to make any serious impact there. The Jazz finished sixth in the West with a 44-28 record.
The team was paced by Donovan Mitchell yet again. With averages of 24, 4 and 4 per games, Mitchell earned himself his first All Star Game appearance.
Mitchell was joined on the front line again by two time Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert. With averages of 15 points, 13 boards and 2 assists, Gobert was the dominant big man that Utah needed him to be, and was also selected to his first All Star Game.
Controversy hit when Gobert tested positive for COVID-19, the first in the league to do so and just days after he was joking about the virus. This reportedly caused issues between him and Mitchell, and was the beginning of the suspension of the league. The two apparently sorted things out and continued leading the way for the team.
Prior to the season, the Jazz acquired Mike Conley in an attempt to help share the load with Mitchell, but Conley was a shell of his usual self, not living up to the expectations.
The Jazz also added Jordan Clarkson during the season who became a spark plug off the bench, averaging over 15 points per game for Utah, and joining Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neal as solid wing contributors.
The Utah Jazz were eliminated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets. Things may have gone differently if they still had Bojan Bogdanovic, who before a wrist injury was putting up over 20 points per contest. Mitchell was a bright spot in the first round loss, putting up to 50 point games in the tough seven game series.
Utah’s offensive rating was ranked eighth in the league while their defensive rating ranked 12th, showing their elite level of play on both ends. When going against the spread, Utah managed just 34-36-2, the 17th best record, while their record of 38-34 in totals betting was only marginally better, finishing 11th in the league.
back to work in the 𝟖𝟎𝟏 👀#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/9lw64J086b
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) December 2, 2020
Utah Jazz’s Offseason Changes
The Utah Jazz entered the 2020 NBA Draft with just pick 23. The Jazz sent this pick to the New York Knicks in exchange for picks 27 and 38. Utah selected Kansas center Udoka Azebuike with the 27th pick.
Pick 38 was traded, with Tony Bradley, to the Detroit Piston in exchange for cash considerations. Utah sent a future second round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for pick 39, which was used to draft Elijah Hughes, a guard out of Syracuse.
Players In: Derrick Favors
Players Out: Ed Davis, Tony Bradley, Rayjon Tucker
Utah Jazz’s 2020-21 Season Preview
Utah could have very easily won their opening round matchup with the Denver Nuggets and could have potentially beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, much like the Nuggets did.
After having a 3-1 lead and then a game winning shot on the buzzer of game seven, the Jazz were eliminated in the first round and left to reflect, build again and come back better this season.
Without making any moves, Utah would be a better team than the one they had in the playoffs. Bojan Bogdanovic, a 20 point per game and 41.4% three point shooter, missed the Orlando Bubble and playoffs with a hand injury. His return from injury gives this team another shot creator and clutch shooter.
Donovan Mitchell received a max extension during the offseason and the pressure is now on for his high level of individual output to start translating into team success in the postseason.
After trading for him during the season, Jordan Clarkson became a vital piece of the puzzle for Utah off the bench, and the Jazz re-signed him, keeping the continuation and scoring impact.
Losing Ed Davis and Tony Bradley didn’t bode well for the backup center role, but bringing back Derrick Favors is an upgrade over both of them and he has the versatility to play backup to Rudy Gobert or play alongside him at the power forward.
Utah didn’t make any splashy moves in the offseason, but they didn’t need to. Adding Bogdanovic and Favors to a team that almost made the conference semifinals, along with the natural progression of Mitchell and Gobert, Utah is a dangerous team in the stacked Western Conference.
Utah has just the sixth best odds in the conference to win the West (+1600) and win the NBA Championship (+3000), but PointsBet have them with the fourth highest regular season wins total line in the West. This team is set for a rise up the standings.
Will the Utah Jazz Make the Playoffs?
The Utah Jazz will be making the playoffs, the more important question is where will they finish in the standings and how far can they go.
The last three seasons, since Mitchell joined the team, Utah has finished 5th, 5th and 6th in the West. While missing Bogdanovic, the Jazz went 3-5 in their Orlando Bubble seeding games and finished with the equal fourth best record in the West.
Three of the five teams that finished above them have gotten worse, assuming that Houston capitulates and trades away their pieces, meaning Utah has a clear path to the three seed. They will have competition from other rising teams, but their consistent success over the last three years puts them in a great position to succeed.
Utah Jazz’s Key Games
December 31: vs Phoenix Suns: Conley v Paul, Mitchell v Booker, Gobert v Ayton
January 1: vs Los Angeles Clippers: Trashtalk Throwdown – Ingles v George
January 8: @ Milwaukee Bucks: Defensive Player of the Year battle – Gobert v Giannis
January 17: @ Denver Nuggets: 2020 Opening Round rematch – Mitchell v Murray
January 19: vs New Orleans Pelicans: Favors v Pelicans, Gobert v Adams
January 23: vs Golden State Warriors: Mitchell proving himself against Curry, Gobert v Green
February 24: vs Los Angeles Lakers: Against the defending Champs, Gobert v AD in battle of defensive towers
good vibe tribe ✔️ pic.twitter.com/JcMTOqjNw6
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) December 4, 2020
Utah Jazz’s Betting Summary
The Utah Jazz’s regular season wins total is set at 43 games exactly. Utah finished last season with a 44-28 record and seem to have marginally improved through health and free agency.
Utah has managed a winning percentage better than what 43-29 in their last two seasons, plus both Mitchell and Gobert will only keep improving. The over, with -110 odds, is the bet here.
Jordan Clarkson is the equal third favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award with +900 odds. With a lot changing around the league and the top two placegetters from last season leaving their teams to both join the Lakers, the water is murky surrounding the award.
Clarkson will continue his bench role of punching in points and providing a spark for the Jazz and should be heavily considered as a bet for the award.
Utah has +1600 odds to win the West and +3000 odds to win the NBA Championship. They are definitely a better team than what those odds say, does that mean they will actually win though? No.
They are one of the better value bets in the conference, however they won’t be winning the West.
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of PointsBet.
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Image by: Rogé Rogé
