The Los Angeles Lakers are rested, and they will need that energy on Wednesday night when they host the Utah Jazz in a Western Conference matchup at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers (26-32) haven’t played since Saturday, when they lost a tight 117-115 battle with Golden State despite 26 points and 15 rebounds from LeBron James. The Lakers are ninth in the West, while the Jazz (36-21) are currently the fourth seed and have won six straight. Donovan Mitchell scored 30 in a 135-101 shellacking of the Hawks on Monday night, and big man Rudy Gobert helps make Utah one of the league’s most balanced teams.
Tip-off in Los Angeles is set for 10 p.m. ET. Rudy Gay (knee) is out for Utah, while the Lakers’ injury report consists of James (questionable; knee), Carmelo Anthony (out; hamstring) and Avery Bradley (out; knee). Caesars Sportsbook lists Utah as a 4.5-point favorite in its latest Jazz vs. Lakers odds, and the Over-Under for total points is 226. Before you make any Lakers vs. Jazz picks, be sure to see the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model enters Week 17 of the 2021-22 NBA season on a stunning 67-39 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning almost $2,200. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Jazz vs. Lakers, and just locked in its picks and NBA predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA betting lines and trends for Lakers vs. Jazz:
Jazz vs. Lakers spread: Utah -4.5 Jazz vs. Lakers over-under: 226 points Jazz vs. Lakers money line: Utah -190, Los Angeles +160 UTAH: Utah is 87-66-1 ATS as a road favorite under coach Quin Snyder (since 2014) LAL: The Lakers are 71-70-2 ATS in conference games since Frank Vogel’s hiring in 2019
Featured Game | Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz
Why the Jazz can cover
Utah ranks in the top 10 in the league on both ends of the floor and it is 69-58-1 against the spread as a favorite the past two seasons. It has the No. 1 scoring offense in the NBA at 114 points per game and is ninth on the defensive end, allowing 106.9. The Lakers are 26th in scoring (112.6) and allow opponents to pull down 47.2 rebounds per game (fourth-most in the NBA). That could be a major issue against Gobert as the Frenchman is second in the league in both rebounding (14.9 per game) and blocked shots (2.2).
Four Jazz players score at least 15 points per game, and the Jazz are 13-12-1 ATS in road games this season. Mitchell scores 25.5 per contest and he helps lead one of the NBA’s top shooting offenses. Gobert leads the NBA in field-goal percentage at 71.1, and Utah is third in FG percentage (47.3) and sixth in three-point shooting (36.1). Mike Conley also has a key role, shooting 41.4 percent from outside, scoring 14 points per game and adding 5.3 assists.
Why the Lakers can cover
Utah has covered the spread in just two of the past nine meetings, and Los Angeles has won two of the past three. That includes a 101-95 victory in January, when it held Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic to a combined 0-for-9 from 3-point range. James scored 25 and was one of five Lakers in double figures. James has returned from the knee injury that has hampered him, and is likely to all season, and has scored at least 25 in 22 straight games. He is the top scorer at 29 points per game and averages just shy of eight rebounds.
James and Davis are always a potent combination, and Davis relishes his meetings with Gobert. The Lakers star hasn’t faced his Utah counterpart since August 2020, but he had 42 points and 12 rebounds in that 116-108 Lakers win. Davis averages 23 points and 9.9 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook scores 18.9 points per game and chips in 7.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
How to make Jazz vs. Lakers picks
SportsLine’s model is leaning under on the total, projecting 219 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits over 50 percent of the time. You can only see the model’s pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Lakers vs. Jazz? And which side of the spread hits over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.