The Utah Jazz’s magic number to win the Northwest Division for the first time since the 2016-17 season shrunk last time out after logging the 110-99 win and cover against the San Antonio Spurs. Should it see it all the way through, it would be the Denver Nuggets two season win streak of holding divisional bragging rights that would go up in smoke. Mike Malone’s squad will get its final crack of the regular season to potentially keep its streak intact when the division rivals square off for the third and final time on Friday night with the series split. The first two skirmishes were held in the Mile High City where Utah logged the 109-105 win as 1.5-point favorites in the first go round, but fell 128-117 as 2.5-point favorites in the rematch two weeks later. The O/U split at online sportsbooks with an average of 229.5 points denting the scoreboard. Utah’s 8-2 SU and 6-3-1 ATS the last 10 times it hosted the Nuggs. The total went 5-5 in those matchups but the over cashed each of the last two times. Though Denver has come up with a number of big wins recently sans Jamal Murray, it’s going to be a steep uphill climb getting the best of the Jazz in this spot.
This Western Conference heavyweight bout is set to go down live on Friday, May 7, 2021. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET from the Vivint Arena. We'll have NBA odds available at BookMaker.eu for this and every game on the NBA slate.
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Odds Analysis
The Nuggs just saw their five-game win streak come to an end last time out in Tinseltown where the LeBron James-less Lakers went on to hand them a 93-89 outright defeat as 4-point Staples Center underdogs. The defeat still only dropped them to a rock solid 19-12 SU and 16-15 ATS when playing away from the Pepsi Center. After failing to come through for its wagering supporters last time out at home after logging the 106-102 win and non-cover as 7-point favorites against the Toronto Raptors, Utah got back in the ATS win column Monday night when it tallied the 11 point win and cover as 7.5-point favorites. The Jazz have been nothing if not smooth at home all season in going a resounding 28-4 SU and 21-11 ATS overall.
Denver Nuggets
You can’t help but come away impressed with the job Denver has done since Murray was lost for the season immediately following the 116-107 defeat to the Golden State Warriors back on April 12. Since then, the team has gone 9-2 SU and 5-6 ATS and jumped all the way up into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Though it owns the exact same record as the Los Angeles Clippers, it owns the tiebreaker due to winning the season series against Kawhi and company. Unfortunately, it wasn’t able to sweep both games just held in the Staples Center mostly due to Anthony Davis going HAM on Monday night. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. tried their damndest to lead the team to a sixth straight victory, but their effort just came up short.
Utah Jazz
Much like tonight’s opponent, the Jazz has been forced to go at all opposition without one of the key components to the team’s success over the course of the 2020-21 NBA betting season. Donovan Mitchell hasn’t laced ‘em up since April 16 since suffering an ankle injury against the Indiana Pacers. The end results haven’t been as good as the Nuggets sans Murray. Utah stands 5-4 SU and 4-5 ATS in his absence, but the team has turned it around of late logging wins in three of the last four (2-2 ATS). Last time out, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neale combined for 49 points while Rudy Gobert beasted the glass with 15 caroms. Mike Conley was listed as questionable for the game, but ultimately didn’t play. Check injury reports leading up to tip-off for this one to see if the veteran point guard will be back in the mix. All signs are leading towards that being the case.
Denver vs. Utah Prediction
While I respect the heck out of what the Nuggets have been able to do without the services of their second leading scorer over the last few weeks, I don’t foresee them having what it takes to get the best of the Jazz with the division title on the line; even with Mitchell not suiting up. The Jazz have worked way too hard to get to where they are to this point of the season, and I expect nothing less than excellence to be churned out in their final regular season run-in with Denver. With last year’s seven-game playoff defeat still fresh on their minds, look for Quin Snyder to have his men ready to go to war that ultimately leads to the clinching win and pointspread cover that earns them division bragging rights and likely the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
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