Milwaukee Bucks vs. Utah Jazz Prediction, Preview, and Odds – 2-4-2024 – Stat Salt
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The NBA rolls out a nine-game slate on Sunday, and one of the interesting nighttime contests pits the Milwaukee Bucks against the Utah Jazz. Milwaukee entered Saturday’s game against Dallas at 32-16, while Utah was idle, and they’re 24-26. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 ET from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT.
*This article was written before the completion of Milwaukee’s Saturday game.
Bucks Just 1-3 in Last Four Games
This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Bucks. They were one of the best teams in the Association, yet decided to dismiss head coach Adrian Griffin. Doc Rivers has taken over the team, and his Bucks are just 1-3 since he came aboard. The three losses came at the hands of Cleveland (112-100), Denver (113-107), and Portland (119-116), most recently. The lone victory in the “Rivers Era” was a home game against New Orleans (141-117). From a sports betting perspective, Milwaukee is currently 18-30 ATS and they’ve seen 28 of their 48 games go over the total.
Damian Lillard’s return to Portland didn’t go as planned for him and his new squad, as they failed to cover as 10.5-point favorites with an outright loss. The two sides split the rebounding battle (39 apiece), and the Blazers had the edge in every other major statistical category, including field goal percentage (53.3% to 48.9%), three-point shooting (42.9% to 28.9%), and turnovers (11 to 13).
Individually, it has been none other than Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way. He has posted team high marks in scoring (30.9 PPG), rebounding (11.6 RPG), and steals (1.4 SPG). Lillard runs things up top, adding 25.1 points per game while dishing out a team-leading 6.8 assists per night.
Jazz Drop Third Straight Game
The expectations weren’t off the charts for Will Hardy and his Jazz when the season started. However, they’re hanging around in the Western Conference race, sitting in 10th place. That’s where they’ll need to remain if they at least want to make the play-in tournament. The oddsmakers aren’t buying Utah this season, pricing them at just +900 to make the final eight teams in the West. They’re -2500 to miss the playoffs. As for their game-level betting numbers, the Jazz enter this contest at 29-21 ATS and they’ve seen 28 of their 50 games go over the total.
Utah lost at home to Philadelphia (127-124) last time out, marking their third straight defeat. The Jazz were actually a 4.5-point favorite with Joel Embiid sidelined. Utah had the edge in field goal percentage (51.7% to 50.0%) and rebounding (43 to 40), but Philly was better in three-point shooting (43.8% to 33.3%) and turnovers (5 to 11).
As for individual efforts, Lauri Markkanen has paved the way this season, leading the team in both scoring (23.6 PPG) and rebounding (8.7 RPG). Jordan Clarkson runs things up top, adding 17.6 points per game while dishing out a team-leading 4.9 assists per night.
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Best Bets
Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
As of this writing (Saturday evening), the oddsmakers have Milwaukee listed as a 1.0-point road underdog. While they’re just 1-3 in the “Doc Rivers Era,” it’s still hard for me to imagine why they’d be an underdog against the pedestrian Jazz. The only thing I can think of is if Giannis won’t play due to it being a back-to-back.
Well, regardless of if the Greek Freak plays or not, I’m still going to take the Bucks to win this game outright. They’ve been excellent on zero days rest this season, posting a league-leading 6-1 SU record (85.7%). Meanwhile, the Jazz are slumping, as they’ve dropped their last three games, and six of their last eight. Let’s not overthink this one – give me Milwaukee.
Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks Moneyline (+100)
Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
Neither of these teams enjoy playing defense, which leads me to believe that we’re in for a higher-scoring affair. Milwaukee’s just 17th in defensive efficiency, surrendering 114.1 points per 100 possessions. Utah comes in at 25th, conceding 116.1 points per 100 possessions. This is an excellent matchup for the Bucks as they bring in the league’s best offense. Their unit scores 118.3 points per 100 possessions. So, while this total is insanely high, I think we can sneak over 246.5 combined points.
Finally, it’s worth noting that these teams both rank inside the top 10 in terms of pace. This should be a good old-fashioned shootout in SLC – give me the over!
Prediction: Over 146.5 (-110)
