The Los Angeles Clippers needed to play perfectly down the stretch to wrest the No. 4 seed away from the Utah Jazz, and that’s what they did. The Clippers won their finals seven games to surge past Utah, which gives them the benefit of hosting the first game between these teams in the Western Conference playoffs.
The teams finished with identical records and even had the same home and road splits. The Clippers are a tad more talented and have the all-important home court which will make them the favorites in this game and the series.
Los Angeles has the star power, but beware if the spread gets too high. Utah is also a solid team and should not be overlooked, as this one figures to be competitive.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, April 15, 2017, at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Saturday schedule.
NBA Odds
Utah is the five-point underdog in this matchup and listed at +172 to pull the upset. The Clippers are listed at -205 to win this one and the scoring total has been set at 200.5.
The Jazz finished the season with a record of 51-31 straight up and 37-42-3 against the spread. Utah ended the season covering in 18 of its road games. The Jazz were 9-16 against the underdog on the year.
The Clippers also went 51-31 straight up and were 39-41-1 against the spread. Los Angeles was 20-19-1 against the spread at home on the season and finished up the regular season by covering in 26 of 57 games as the favorite while pushing once.
Season Series
The Clippers won three of the four regular season games, which turned out to be crucial because it gave them the tiebreaker to earn the home court advantage in this series. Los Angeles won the first two easily, holding the Jazz to 75 and 72 points.
Utah fought back in the third matchup by lighting up the scoreboard in a 114-108 victory. If the Jazz could have knotted up the series at 2, it would have given them a one-game advantage in the standings if everything else stayed the same the rest of the way, but the Clippers won the fourth game by a score of 108-95.
The Jazz has some good players, but they didn’t perform very well in the regular season and will need to improve to have a chance in Game 1 and in this series.
Matchup to Watch
DeAndre Jordan vs. the Utah offense -- The Jazz only averaged 100.7 points per game during the regular season, and they had trouble much of the time against the Clippers. Much of that was due to Jordan, who is one of the pre-eminent shot blockers in the NBA.
The Jazz will shoot three-pointers when available but don’t base their entire offense around it. They like getting high-percentage shots near the rim when available, but those can be in short supply when a player like Jordan is clogging the lane.
If Utah doesn’t shoot well in this game, it’s going to have a really tough time keeping up as the Clippers have more talent and ways to score on offense.
Free NBA ATS Pick
Utah’s defense can keep it in any game, and both teams enter this one playing well. However, the Clippers seem to be jelling perfectly entering the postseason and should win this game.
The big question comes down to the spread. While Los Angeles might be the fashionable pick since it has the bigger names and the home court advantage, expect Utah to make a game of this one. The Jazz should be able to cover, and then keep an eye on the scoring total because, like some of the other games in this series, the points could be in high demand.
NBA Odds: Clippers 98, Jazz 94
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
