NBA Betting Picks: Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz

Added on Feb 11, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

The Utah Jazz have abruptly been thrown into the ‘post Jerry Sloan era’ as they try to get back into the playoff hunt in the Western Conference. They’ll play their first game without their venerable head coach on the sideline tonight as they host the Phoenix Suns. It’s hard to figure out which way the Suns are going, but they are on a 2 game winning steak heading into the this game at Salt Lake City’s Energy Solutions Arena. We’ll take a look at an attractive NBA betting position on the game.

Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz
February 11, 2011 7:35 PM Pacific

So how will the Jazz respond in their first game in 23 years without Jerry Sloan at the helm? That remains to be seen, but this sure doesn’t look like a spot they’ll be clamping down defensively. We generally like new Utah head coach Tyrone Corbin and think he’s long overdue for a top level gig, but he’s as stunned by the sudden departure of Sloan and longtime assistant Phil Johnson as anyone else–he found out he was the new coach of the Jazz around 12 noon Pacific on Thursday. The Jazz’s defense has slipped dramatically during their recent run of bad play (10 loss in their last 14 games) and they’re now ranked #18 in team defense. Phoenix’s defense has been awful all year–they’re the #27 scoring defense in the NBA allowing 105.7 PPG.

Just too many unknowns about the Jazz mindset in the wake of the Sloan departure to take a position on the side, but we think the fact that they’re still sort of in shock over the events of the past 48 hours will make this game fairly loose. For that reason, we expect plenty of points in a game that plays Over the total. Current price at Bodog is 208′ and we expect this one to be right around 220.

Bet Utah/Phoenix Over 208′