Minnesota at Utah – Can the Twolves stay hot
BetUS NBA Basketball Betting Odds: UTAH -9.5, Total 205
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* MINN has won seven of its last eight games SU
* MINN is 8-1-1 ATS in its last ten games * MINN has played eight of its last 12 games OVER the total
* MINN has won five of its last eight road games SU
* MINN has covered its last seven road games
* MINN has played its last four road games UNDER the total
* UTAH has won five of its last seven games SU
* UTAH has covered three of its last eight games
* UTAH has played eight of its last ten games OVER the total
* UTAH has won its last six home games SU
* UTAH has covered four of its last six road games
* UTAH has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
Also….
* UTAH has won six of the last eight meetings SU
* MINN has covered four of the last six meetings
* Four of the last six meetings have gone OVER the total
* UTAH has won the last five meetings SU as the home team
* Four of the last five meetings in Salt Lake City have gone OVER the total
* UTAH has had the shooting edge in each of the last eight meetings
* UTAH has had the rebounding edge in five of the last seven meetings
* MINN has made more three-pointers in four of the last six meetings
There is no other way to describe it but that the Minnesota Timberwolves have made a major turnaround, although it was not automatic for the interim coach, Kevin McHale.
Things did not start off well for McHale, who was the team’s basketball operations but had his wings clipped by owner Glen Taylor, who essentially told him to sink or swim in his new position. McHale lost his first eight games as head coach, but then the team started to catch fire. They have now won seven of their last eight games.
Last night the Wolves got 17 rebounds out of Al Jefferson and took advantage of a Clippers team that was playing without Marcus Camby, as they scored a 94-86 win at the Staples Center. Minnesota was led by Craig Smith’s 20 points. Smith has now averaged 15 points over his last five games, and Randy Foye, who added 17 against the Clippers, has had 15 or more in eight of his last nine. Of course, you knew that with such a shift in fortunes, Minnesota was going to cover some games, and indeed they have done so in their last seven on the road.
Utah has just come off a three-game road trip in which the Jazz had mixed results. First they lost by 21 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder, then rebounded from that total embarrassment to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. On Saturday they lost a 115-108 decision to the Dallas Mavericks, despite 30 points from Deron Williams and 23 from Mehmet Okur. Paul Millsap returned to the lineup after missing a couple of games, and had four points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. The Jazz will unquestionably need for him to get back to the form he had been showing previously, inasmuch as Carlos Boozer will be out of action for a while.
This is one of those scheduling situations the Jazz takes advantage of, where they have had a couple of days’ rest and the opponent comes in having played the night before. It’s always tough to get acclimated right away to the altitude right away, and so it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see the Wolves fading in the second half. So we will lay the points with Utah, the 9.5-point favorite in the BetUS Sportsbook NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
