The Utah Jazz are on a downward spiral, and they will be seeking to end their winless streak when they host the New York Knicks this Thursday. The Knicks have just rebounded from a bad stretch, but can they sustain their form? Or, will the Jazz hand New York an L in Salt Lake City?

Catch this game live on Thursday, December 14, 2023 at 10 AM, Manila time

Away: New York Knicks (13-9/6-6 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

• Jalen Brunson
• Donte DiVincenzo
• RJ Barrett
• Julius Randle
• Isaiah Hartenstein

It’s back to the win column for the Knicks, who snapped out of a two-game slump by blasting the Toronto Raptors at home on Tuesday, 136-130. That was quite the offensive explosion for the Knicks. They are averaging only 113.1 points per game (19th in the league) but got hot to torch the struggling Raptors.

 New York’s offense has been clicking of late despite their recent losses. They averaged 127.0 points on 53.3 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent from deep in the last three outings. New York will love its chances of putting on an offensive masterclass anew this Thursday, considering Utah’s Swiss Cheese defense that’s 25th in the NBA with 120.3 points allowed per game and 27th with an adjusted defensive rating of 118.4.

Home: Utah Jazz (7-16/6-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

• Keyonte George
• Talen Horton-Tucker
• Ochai Agbaji
• John Collins (Questionable)
• Walker Kessler (Questionable)

The Jazz have not been playing sweet music for some time now. They are coming off a 134-120 loss at the hands of the rapidly ascending Oklahoma City Thunder on the road last Tuesday, thus seeing Utah drop its third game in a row. Moreover, the Jazz are 1-5 straight up in their last six contests. Compounding the agony of the Jazz and their fans is the team’s banged-up roster.

Jordan Clarkson has been ruled out of the Knicks game due to a thigh issue, while John Collins and Walker Kessler are both listed as questionable.  While the statuses of Collins and Kessler are currently up in the air, the Jazz are hopeful that both Keyonte George and Simon Fontecchio will be ready to step up and sustain their momentum when their numbers are called upon after scoring 30 and 19 points, respectively, in the Thunder game. The Knicks are missing a key defensive piece in Mitchell Robinson, so that’s a plus for Utah, which is an admirable 8-3 against the spread in home games this season.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The Jazz (+9.5) cover the spread.

Over/Under: The total (227.0) hits the Over.