NBA Betting Preview: Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz

Added on Dec 05, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

Monday NBA betting action features a Western Conference matchup between the Northwest Division leading Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies. Jazz are coming off a home loss to Dallas on Friday, while Memphis played at Denver on Sunday night.

Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz
December 6, 2010 6:00 PM Pacific

The Grizzlies have been a respectable home team this season but they continue to struggle on the road. They’re 2-8 SU away from the FedEx Forum and just 4-6 ATS. This is going to be a particularly tough spot for them for several reason, not the least of which is the fact that they’re playing the second of back to back games in the high altitude of the Rocky Mountains. Salt Lake City is approximately 4300 feet above sea level compared to Denver’s 5300 feet but that’s not going to make things much easier for a team that plays their home games at 188 feet above sea level on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Since opening the season with back to back losses the Jazz have been one of the best teams in the league. They’ve won 15 of 19 since then and will be in a foul mood off their worst home court performance of the season. Utah has long been known as a good pointspread team at home and this is a particularly strong situation. The Jazz are 14-6 ATS as a home favorite of 9′ to 12 points since 2008 including 4-1 ATS this year. They’re 7-1 SU/6-2 ATS against teams with losing records and have shown a tendency to bounce back well after a substandard performance in recent years. This season they’re 1-1 ATS after scoring 85 points or less but 6-1 ATS/7-0 SU since 2008. Off a SU loss as a favorite they’re 4-0 SU/3-1 ATS this season and 23-10 SU/22-11 ATS since 2008. Off a loss of 10+ points they’re 24-13 ATS. The Jazz are in the midst 6 game home stand and they’ve historically put it in overdrive during these long runs at the Energy Solutions Arena–this year they’re 2-0 ATS after 3 or more straight home games, since 2008 they’re 11-4 ATS.

Not surprisingly given the quality of teams in the Northwest Division, the Grizz have struggled in these matchups in recent years. They’re 1-1 SU/1-0-1 ATS this year but since 2008 they’re on a brutal 10-28 SU/11-26-1 ATS run against the Northwest. And putting the olive in the martini for this play is Utah’s dominance of this series–Jazz are currently on a 6-1 SU/7-0 ATS run against Memphis including 4 straight SU/ATS wins in Salt Lake City. From a technical standpoint, there’s nothing to suggest anything other than a lopsided victory by the home team. We also like this game to go Over the total–before their awful showing against Dallas Utah had scored 100+ in 5 straight and 6 of their last 7. 5 of the last 7 meetings with Memphis have gone Over including 4 straight on the Jazz’s home court.

Bet Utah Jazz -9′ over Memphis Grizzlies
Bet Utah/Memphis Over 200