NBA Betting Free Picks: Utah @ Oklahoma City
Added on Mar 14, 2010 by Jack Thurman in
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Online Sportsbooks will be offering several solid NBA betting opportunities on Sunday and we’ll take a look at a Western Conference battle between the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. Very important game for both teams, with the Jazz in 4th place just 1 1/2 games ahead of the 5th place Thunder. Both teams have been playing well lately–Utah has won 13 of 18 SU while OKC has won 4 straight and 14 of their last 17.
Utah Jazz at Oklahoma City Thunder
March 14, 4:05 PM Pacific
Jazz lost in Milwaukee on Friday night while the Thunder had a much more difficult time than expected on Thursday against the New Jersey Nets at home, winning by 2 as -11 favorites. This is the third meeting of the year between these teams, with OKC winning both. The Thunder won by 1 on New Years Eve, failing to cover as -3 home favorites. They also won by 10 in late November in Salt Lake City, winning outright as +8 underdogs. OKC isn’t able to sneak up on teams anymore–everyone knows not only how good they are as a team but are aware that Kevin Durant may be the best ‘purer scorer’ in the NBA. From a pointspread standpoint, Utah has the edge of late failing to cover in only 5 of their L18 games. The Thunder have cashed tickets in 10 of their L17.
In theory, this is a matchup between two teams that we look to play on in most situations but we give OKC the edge here. The Jazz are much improved on the road from previous years at 17-15 SU/19-12 ATS but this is their fourth game in six days. The team looked a bit flat down the stretch at Milwaukee, and these fatigue issues likely will be a factor in this game as well. We’ll dismiss the Thunder’s substandard performance against the Nets–they’re not the only team that has been overlooking New Jersey down the stretch. To their credit, the Nets are playing hard despite their dismal record covering six straight. Have to think OKC was more focused on this pivotal game with Utah, and with the Thunder a reasonable favorite they don’t need to do much more than win outright to cash our ticket.
Bet Oklahoma City -1′ over Utah
