I like the look of Atlanta in this one, currently getting 7.5 points at home against Utah. The Jazz have been impressive this season, but they’re not as good on the road and this number somewhat overrates them. As a point of reference, Atlanta were smaller underdogs against the Lakers a few days ago.
This is the first game of an East-Coast road trip for Utah, where teams from the West tend to struggle. It is also the front end of a b2b, which could have consequences late on depending on how this starts.
Atlanta does have a few injuries here, but I think they’ve got enough depth to overcome that here. I’m not expecting an outright win, but they should have enough to keep this close, especially through the key number of 7.5.
I’m looking to take Denver +5.5 here, largely due to the excellent scheduling spot in their favor. The Lakers are returning back from a mammoth 7-game East Coast road trip, a situation where West Coast teams tend to struggle.
Denver have been off since Monday due to their postponement against Detroit, providing some valuable time to rest. The injuries to Dozier and Harris are somewhat concerning, but I’m backing the roster depth to keep them competitive here. The Nuggets also have the motivation advantage here, looking for some form of revenge after their Western Conference Finals loss.
LeBron and AD are both on the injury report again for the Lakers and there’s probably an outside chance one of them sits given the pile-up of games. Denver are the more rested and motivated team here and should be able to keep this within 5 points, if not win outright.