NBA Gambling: Jazz vs. Suns Free Pick | Preview

Something has to give on Tuesday’s NBA odds when the Utah Jazz pay a visit to the Phoenix Suns. The Western Conference rivals are both coming off losses and looking to get back on track. Utah, though, must also overcome last week’s resignation of its coach.

Utah (31-24, 24-30-1 ATS) has lost back-to-back games and has just a single victory in its past four outings. The Jazz have been just as miserable against the spread, going 1-3 ATS in their past four games. In fact, the Jazz have been pretty awful since mid-January, going 4-11 in their last 15 games, both straight up and against the spread.

The season took a bizarre twist when longtime coach Jerry Sloan stepped down last week. Sloan has been behind the bench since 1988, but he resigned amid a flurry of rumors, including struggles with star guard Deron Williams. Assistant Tyrone Corbin has taken over but lost his first game, a 95-83 loss to the Suns on Friday.

Utah’s offense has completely disappeared over the last week or so, as the team managed just 83 points against Phoenix and 86 points in a loss to Chicago. Despite the shortage of scoring, Corbin’s first big change as head coach seemed to pay dividends. He started C.J. Miles in place of the injured Raja Bell (rather than Sloan’s pick of rookie Gordon Hayward), and Miles responded admirable. The swingman scored a team-high tying 19 points after going 8-for-19 from the field.

Hayward still made an impact, going 5-for-5 en route to a 14-point night. Unfortunately, he was the only member of the Jazz bench to do anything meaningful. Jeremy Evans was the only other player to score off the bench (three points).

Phoenix (26-26, 24-27-1 ATS) blew a three-game losing streak after falling 113-108 to lowly Sacramento on Sunday. Despite the loss, Phoenix has played well lately, going 6-2 in its past eight games. The Suns also went 6-2 ATS in that stretch.

A huge reason for the turnaround has been a renewed focus on defense. In the Suns’ past six wins, they’ve allowed just 85.5 points per game. In their past three losses, they’ve allowed 107.3 points per game. Basically, if the club decides to play some “D” on any given day, it’s going to have a good shot at winning. The loss to 12-win Sacramento was especially embarrassing, as the Kings were without second-leading scorer DeMarcus Cousins. Sacramento racked up 63 points in the second half alone.

As for the other end of the floor, Phoenix is desperate to get something—anything—out of Vince Carter. There’s speculation Carter is injured, and it’s easy to see why considering his awful efforts lately. The swingman has scored 10, 6, 6 and 7 points in his last four games, and he has played 20 minutes or less in the last three. Carter hit just 12 of his 36 field goal attempts in that span and, hurt or not, that’s unacceptable. If that’s the kind of game he’s going to bring to the floor, Carter needs to take some time off.

Phoenix is 6-4 both straight up and against the spread in its last 10 games against Utah. The teams have met twice this season, with Phoenix winning and covering both. In fact, the Suns are 4-0 (4-0 ATS) in their last four games against the Jazz. Considering Utah is somewhat in disarray after its head coach stepped down, it shouldn’t be a surprise if the streak continues. Take the Suns to win and cover.