The Utah Jazz and the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t exactly the sexiest teams in the NBA today, but they can still make for a fun game this Saturday when Jordan Clarkson and company continue their road trip with an appearance at Moda Center. Will the Jazz end their slump? Or, will the Blazers find a way to get their ninth win of the season at the expense of Utah?

Catch this game live on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 11:00 AM, Manila time

Away: Utah Jazz (4-17/2-8 Away)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Keyonte George
  • Collin Sexton
  • Lauri Markkanen
  • John Collins
  • Walker Kessler

Paul Millsap retired first before Utah could snap its losing streak. The Jazz are on a five-game losing skid following their 133-106 defeat on the road at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Jazz are clearly a team that is still in transition but they are not without quality pieces to make opponents sweat. They also probably would have not lost that many games of late if not for an ill-timed timeout late in the 105-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at home last Monday. 

Lauri Markkanen and John Collins make up a formidable Jazz starting frontcourt. Markkanen is averaging 19.2 points per outing while Collins is putting up 17.8 points and grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game. Collins anchors Utah’s solid rebounding crew, with the Jazz among the top teams in the league when it comes to cleaning the glass. They are averaging 53.3 rebounds per contest. 

The Jazz have won three of their last four meetings with Portland while also covering the spread thrice in those contests.

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Home: Portland Trail Blazers (8-14/5-5 Home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Anfernee Simons
  • Shaedon Sharpe
  • Toumani Camara
  • Jerami Grant
  • Deandre Ayton

The Blazers are not in great shape either. They are coming off back-to-back losses to the Dallas Mavericks (137-131) at home and to the Los Angeles Clippers (127-105) on the road on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. Defense has been barely existent of late for Portland based on the scores in their last couple of games but that has also been the trend for the team this season. 

So far in the campaign, the Blazers are allowing 115.3 points per game. The same can be said about the Jazz, who are even worse than Portland in that area, with Utah allowing 118.6 points per outing. In other words, there is geat potential for the likes of Shaedon Sharpe and Anfernee Simons to put up big scoring performances this Saturday. Sharpe leads the Blazers with 17.8 points per game while Simmons is making 16.7 points a night. As a team, Portland is averaging 107.1 points.

The Blazers enter the Utah game with a 6-4 ATS record in their last 10 contests overall.

Picks

Spread: Portland Trail Blazers (-2.5)

Over/Under: Over (225.5)

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