NBA Betting – Jazz vs. Bobcats

November 14, 2008 by Ray M.

Offensively Challenged Bobcats Host Struggling Jazz

The Utah Jazz (6-2 SU, 4-4 ATS, 2-6 O/U) are coming off a dismal 95-87 loss to the Washington Wizards in the BetUS Sportsbook. The Charlotte Bobcats (2-5 SU, 3-4 ATS, 1-6 O/U) have dropped two straight and have had problems putting the ball in the hole since the regular season started.

Both teams will be looking to get back in the win column for BetUS NBA sports betting buffs when they meet tonight at Time Warner Cable Arena.

After starting off the regular season with five straight wins, the Jazz have dropped two of their last three overall including Wednesday’s loss to the Wizards.

“I can’t really say why,” Utah’s Kyle Korver said, “but it did feel like we were a little bit dead tonight.”

Utah got 20 points from Carlos Boozer on 9-for-17 shooting and 16 points from C.J. Miles on 5-of-9 shooting and were in the contest late until Wizards veteran forward Antawn Jamison hit a 3-pointer that put Washington up 87-82 with just over 2 minutes remaining that started a 12-0 run that effectively ended any hopes Utah had on winning the contest.

“The deciding factor,” said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who was limited to just eight points on 3-for-7 shooting. “We hung our heads a little bit when he hit that shot.”

Already without starting center Mehmet Okur, who has missed the last two games after returning home to Turkey because of a family illness, backup forward Andrei Kirilenko was injured in the loss to Washington when he sprained his right index finger.

The Bobcats are coming off a 88-80 loss to the new-look Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and have struggled to score the ball in a big way this season, ranking dead last in scoring, averaging just 87.3 points and 31.1 made field goals per game. Larry Brown’s young charges are shooting a tepid 42.7 percent from the field and grabbing just 37.0 rebounds a contest – second-fewest in the league.

Now, leading scorer Jason Richardson is out for about a week after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday.

“I have never been with a team where you’re trying to figure out whether we drive the ball, whether we post the ball, whether we run pick and roll,” said Brown, in his first season with the franchise. “It’s a real puzzle right now.”

Richardson scored 23 against the Nuggets on 9-for-16 shooting but the Bobcats saw just two other players reach double figures in scoring.

Here is a look at the key trends for each team, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Picks:

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Utah’s last 8 games when playing Charlotte
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Utah’s last 8 games
Utah is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Charlotte’s last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Charlotte’s last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Charlotte’s last 8 games when playing Utah
Charlotte is 8-14-1 ATS in its last 23 games

NBA Odds

Utah Jazz -6½ -110
Charlotte Bobcats +6½ -110

Over 180 -110
Under 180 -110

Analysis: While I fully believe that, given enough time, Larry brown will get the Bobcats turned around, they clearly are hurting and struggling to score. The loss of Richardson will only make things tougher for them until he returns.

Take the Utah Jazz to bounce back from their recent loss in a big way by covering the spread with room to spare in this matchup.