A strong finish helped the Oklahoma City Thunder vault to the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, giving it home court advantage in the first round. The Utah Jazz lost its regular season finale to drop to the No. 5 seed. This should be one of the most intriguing series in the first round as it features a pair of wildly different teams.
Oklahoma City has the star power while Utah has one of the NBA’s best defenses and an emerging star point guard in Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is in the Rookie of the Year conversation while Rudy Gobert is a dominant defensive player down low, giving the Jazz a legitimate shot at winning this series.
Oklahoma City is playing well and is the type of team that could threaten the favorites in the West if it is clicking. The Thunder is favored to move on to the second round but don’t be surprised if Utah is a thorn in its side throughout this series in NBA basketball gambling.
Game 1 of this NBA Playoff Series is on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Odds Analysis
Oklahoma City is a slim -130 favorite to advance past the Jazz in the first round, while Utah is listed as the +110 underdog. Oklahoma City is garnering more than 61 percent of the action to win this series.
The Thunder is listed as the 3.5-point favorite in Game 1, with more than 73 percent of the money on OKC to cover. The Thunder is -165 on the moneyline while the Jazz are the +144 underdogs. The scoring total is 205 points as Utah’s defense keeps down the total. The “over” has been the more popular selection.
Oklahoma City’s odds to win the NBA championship are pegged at +4019. Utah’s title odds are listed at +5700 in NBA basketball gambling.
Previous Meetings
The Oklahoma City Thunder have won the last three meetings between these two teams and went 3-1 against the Jazz this season. Utah took the first matchup back on October 21st, 96-87, leading from the gate against a Thunder team that had an up-and-down start to the season.
In the next meeting, on December 5th, Oklahoma came out much stronger. Behind a triple-double from Russell Westbrook, the Thunder captured a 100-94 win at home.
They’d defeat the Jazz twice more in the same month, winning in dominating fashion on December 20th, 107-79 and on December 23rd, 103-89.
Player To Watch
Westbrook -- A big rebounding game in the season finale allowed the Thunder’s high-flying point guard to average a triple-double for a second consecutive season, an incredible feat. Utah has Mitchell on his way to stardom, but he’s no Westbrook.
The Jazz has the advantage down low but Westbrook has a way of evening things out. He’s not the greatest shooter, so if Utah can keep him from dominating in the paint it would really increase its chances of grabbing the series victory.
Mitchell has gotten a lot of hype down the stretch and Westbrook may be eager to prove a point in this series that he is the best point guard in this matchup.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The trio of Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony have much more star power than Utah’s core, but the Jazz is playing some really good ball currently. While the Thunder have the home court advantage, this series isn’t going to get back to Utah for the seventh game.
Take the Jazz to wrap up this series in six games in NBA basketball wagering. Utah is the choice to cover in Game 1 and should be able to claim one of the first two contests in Oklahoma City to tilt the series in its favor.
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