NBA Betting May 12, 2021 – Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz

If the Utah Jazz are going to capture the top seed in the Western Conference they’ll have to do it without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell. The team revealed that Mitchell will miss the remaining games on the regular season schedule starting with Wednesday’s home tilt against the Portland Trail Blazers. This is a huge game for both clubs with the Jazz looking to maintain their slim margin over Phoenix for the No. 1 seed and Portland looking to stay among the top six thus avoiding a date in the play-in tournament. The Jazz go for the season sweep after posting double digit wins in the first two meetings.  Bookmaker.eu offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600).

Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz
Date and Time: Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Opening NBA Odds: Utah -4.5, O/U (Check Back Later)
Trail Blazers at Jazz TV Coverage: ESPN

Odds Analysis

The Blazers are playing their best basketball at the right time. Winners of four straight and eight of their last nine while going 6-3 ATS, they’ve moved to the No. 5 seed in the West. They can’t go any higher with just a few games remaining, but they can go lower and that’s something they’d like to avoid since they are just 1.5 games up on the No. 7 Lakers. And as we all know the 7-10 seeds are relegated to the new play-in tournament. The Blazers are 40-29 SU and 35-34 ATS this season. The Jazz saw their five-game winning end Monday against Golden State, their second straight loss to the Dubs. This is Utah’s final regular season home game with their play at Vivint Smart Home Arena a major reason why they are the only 50-win team in the NBA.  The Jazz are 31-4 SU and 23-11-1 ATS at home this season, including a 122-103 payout over the Blazers on Apr. 8. That was Utah’s third straight win in the series going 2-1 ATS in those games.

Portland Trail Blazers

Only one team in the West has more road wins than Portland. That success has them fighting for a spot in the top six which would allow them to avoid the play-in scenario. However, the Blazers haven’t had any success against the Jazz this season dropping both games by at least 19 points with Damian Lillard held in check. Just last month the Blazers appeared headed to the play-in tournament. consecutive home setbacks to Memphis gave them a five-game losing streak but things changed quickly thanks to an offense that suddenly turned explosive. The Blazers have won eight of nine games since the series with the Griz scoring at least 124 points in seven of those contests. The OVER is 6-3 in those nine games. They finished off a 5-1 road trip scoring a season-high 141 points against the Cavs last week. They then capped a perfect three-game homestand with a 140-129 triumph over the Rockets on Monday.

How explosive have they been you ask? Well, against Houston the Blazers 50 points – half a hundy – in the first period. THE FIRST PERIOD. Four different players hit the 20-point mark led by Lillard, who dropped 34 hitting 6 of 11 three-pointers. Norman Powell and C.J. McCollum each had 28 points and Josef Nurkic had 22 hitting 10 of 14 from the floor. In all the Blazers shot 51 percent from the floor and 45 percent from behind the arc. Portland has been one of the top offensive teams all season ranking fifth with 116 points per game and sixth in three-point percentage.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz know they will be without Mitchell for the remaining three games. Still, they control their own destiny to lock up the No. 1 seed in the conference and the entire league. Depth has been a strength all season and the Jazz haven’t suffered too much with Mitchell nursing an ankle injury. They struggled initially losing three of five games after Mitchell was shelved but responded with a five game winning streak that provided some separation from Phoenix. That run ended Monday night with a 119-116 setback to Golden State. Utah finishes the season against teams they are a combined 6-0 SU and 4-2 ATS.

The Jazz go for the season sweep after winning the first encounter 120-100. They won and covered for a second time, 122-103, in the Rose City on Apr. 8. Both games played below the closing total. The loss of Mitchell, who averages 26.4 points, is huge. And the Jazz have also been without his backcourt mate Mike Conley, who has missed the last eight games. That hasn’t taken away from what they do best, though. The Jazz lead the league in three-pointers made and attempted while connecting on 39 percent of those shots. It’s allowed them to post the largest point differential in the NBA at plus-9.2 points.

Bet Trail Blazers at Jazz at BookMaker.eu

With Utah missing its starting backcourt the Blazers might have a chance. While the Jazz have been lighting it up from distance they are also one of the top defensive teams in the NBA showing off their prowess against Lillard and the Blazers. Dame is likely to go off but I like the Jazz and their depth to complete the season sweep with the top seed in the West on the line.

NBA Score Prediction: Jazz 117, Trail Blazers 106

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com