NBA Bettting Preview – Utha Jazz vs. New Orleans Hornets

Tired and beaten down, the Utah Jazz must find the resolve to finish strong down the home stretch. Utah and Denver continue to jockey for position in the Western Conference playoff scene, and home court advantage for at least a couple series remains up for grabs. Yet a crushing injury may leave the Jazz vulnerable, even if it is against the disappointing New Orleans Hornets.

Don’t feel too bad for the Hornets. After an injury to Chris Paul proved that this was a one-man team, New Orleans will now get a promising spot in the lottery draft where they’ll get to pick from a litter of very talented players. In the meantime, however, it’s virtually insane to back the Hornets as a betting prospect. New Orleans is just 5-14-1 ATS in their past 20 games overall and are 3-7 ATS in their past 10 games at home.

Also marring the hopes of the Hornets as an upset pick is the fact that they’re just 1-6 SU/ATS in their past 7 games against the Utah Jazz. The Jazz may have been fatigued from their (lucky) overtime win over the Thunder, which basically led to the 96-113 thrashing at the hands of Houston, but now they’ve had a few days to get rested.

Utah Jazz (51-28) vs. New Orleans Hornets (35-44)
Friday, April 9th — New Orleans Arena — 8:00pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Utah -7.5 (207.5)

Utah hasn’t been a promising bet lately, and an injury to Mehmet Okur makes it even more troubling. Utah is just 2-6 SU/ATS in their past 8 road games, and with Okur nursing a sprained Achilles injury, that will force the Jazz to go relatively small in the front court. I say “relatively” because using the word “small” when describing Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap isn’t exactly appropriate.

The interesting x-factor in this game is Darren Collison, the former UCLA Bruin who has stepped in for the injured Chris Paul. He is certainly not the gamer that Paul is, but Collison is averaging 18.3 points per game in 34 go’s as a starter. If you think that Collison has a chance to matchup and slow down the bigger Derron Williams, then I can’t really agree with you. The reason it’s an x-factor is that Collison is capable of getting red-hot from the field. Against Charlotte he dropped 24 points, and against the Lakers in an upset victory he scored 17.

Still I don’t see this being much of a game, and the presence of Collison isn’t enough to fully sway my decision to bet on Utah to cover, win and play strong enough defense to fluster the hapless Hornets. Maybe next year, New Orleans.

Furious Free Pick: Utah -7.5 (UNDER)