Free NBA Picks Today: Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers 12/3/22

The Utah Jazz (14-11, 8-3 Home), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, host the Portland Trail Blazers (11-11, 7-6 Away) on Saturday. Portland was outplayed by the Los Angeles Lakers 128-109 at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday, their third loss in a row. Jerami Grant led the way in the loss with 27 points and five assists.

The Trail Blazers are 11th in the Western Conference. Utah is playing the second of a back-to-back after winning in dominant fashion yesterday at Vivint Arena, beating the Indiana Pacers 139-119. Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and 13 rebounds, carrying the team. The Jazz are the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

The teams are meeting for the final time this season. After winning the only earlier season meeting against Portland 118-113 at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on November 19, their fifth straight head-to-head victory, Utah will be pursuing a season sweep.

Malik Beasley led the Jazz with 29 points. Anfernee Simons had 23 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the loss.Simons and Grant, averaging 23.8 and 22.2 points per game, respectively, are leading the Blazers in scoring this season.

Both are among the league’s top scorers, as Simons is No. 1 and Grant is first. Simons also has dished 4.5 assists per game, most in the NBA. Meanwhile, Jusuf Nurkic is grabbing 10.0 rebounds per game.Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson have powered the Jazz’s offense, averaging 22.3 and 19.5 points per game, respectively. Markkanen leads the league in scoring, while Clarkson is first.

Markkanen also has collected 8.6 rebounds per game, most in the league, while Clarkson has tallied 4.8 assists per game, most in the NBA. The Jazz are averaging 117.9 points per game, ranking as one of the top scoring offenses in the league (2nd). The Jazz have found success in the last 10 games between the teams at Vivint Arena, winning seven.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are 3-3 when playing the second of a back-to-back this season and 2-1 in such games against rested opponents. The Trail Blazers are 1-1 with a rest advantage. In the last 10 games, Portland is 2-8 with an average margin of -6.7 (110.6-117.3).

For the season, the Trail Blazers are averaging 109.8 points per game, compared to 111.5 for opponents. Utah has gone 4-6 over the last 10, allowing 119.7 points per game on average while scoring only 119.4 (-0.3 margin).

TRAIL BLAZERS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Justise Winslow: 23.8 | 17.2 | +6.6
Shaedon Sharpe: 7.0 | 11.0 | -4.0
Points per game:
Jerami Grant: 30.6 | 22.2 | +8.4
Shaedon Sharpe: 5.2 | 8.2 | -3.0
Rebounds per game:
Justise Winslow: 8.0 | 5.4 | +2.6
Assists per game:
Anfernee Simons: 5.8 | 4.5 | +1.3

JAZZ HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Collin Sexton: 26.2 | 19.6 | +6.6
Points per game:
Collin Sexton: 17.8 | 14.0 | +3.8
Assists per game:
Jordan Clarkson: 6.4 | 4.8 | +1.6