Game of the day: Utah Jazz at L.A. Lakers
By The Prez
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers (-7, 209) - lines estimated
Season series
Will the winning team tonight score 113 points? That would be the third game in a row between these two that it would be the case.
The Lakers beat Utah by 13 in the season’s first meeting Jan. 2 in Los Angeles, while Utah managed that same score after besting Phil Jackson's club by four on Feb. 11 in Salt Lake City – which ended a seven-game home losing streak to Los Angeles.
It should be noted that the Jazz didn’t have Carlos Boozer in either game, while L.A. didn’t have Andrew Bynum for the one at Utah. Kobe Bryant is averaging 38.5 points in the two meetings with the Jazz.
These two sides are currently slotted to meet in the playoffs.
"We're going into [the Utah game] trying to send them a message," Bynum told the Los Angeles Times.
Which starters will play?
Tonight is the regular season finale for both teams. The Cavaliers clinched the NBA’s best overall record Monday at Indiana, so this game means nothing for the Purple and Gold, who have been locked in as the West’s best for weeks.
Coach Jackson said Monday afternoon that he wouldn't bench his three players with the most minutes (Bryant, Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol) no matter what the Cavs did Monday night.
"I don't think of sitting players," Jackson said. "I don't think that's the right thing to do when people buy season tickets and special-game tickets and things like that, and the league has asked us not to do that.”
Of course, he didn’t mention anything about limiting minutes, and Jackson began doing that last week, with no player getting more than 32 minutes in the win over the Grizzlies on Sunday.
Look for Fisher, especially, to play very limited minutes Tuesday (he got just 18 on Sunday). The 34-year-old, who hasn’t missed a game this season, has begun to look his age, shooting 22.5 percent from the field owner of a 1-for-15 from 3-point range mark in the past five games. Fisher, who is dealing with a sore left foot, has just 16 total points in that stretch.
As for the Jazz, they certainly should be playing everyone as usual. Assuming the Jazz beat the Clippers on Monday night (a safe assumption), Utah still needs a win over the Lakers and either New Orleans to finish 0-2 in its final two games or Dallas to lose at least one of its final two. The Hornets and Mavs both play Wednesday night, so Utah’s motivation to finish above No. 8 and avoid the Lakers in the playoffs should still be there.
A few numbers
Utah has just one road win in 12 road games against the West’s seven other playoff qualifiers and just two road wins over teams above .500 overall. They are 3-13 ATS in their past 16 on the road.
For certain Utah won’t win 50 games for a third straight regular season. And the Jazz defense has disappeared of late, allowing 112.7 points in their past seven games entering Monday’s action.
The Lakers are 24-4 over the last two seasons when Kobe scores fewer than 20 points.
The Jazz are 3-17 in the second half of back-to-backs and 0-6 ATS in their past six.
L.A. is 7-1 ATS in the past eight at home in this series.
Inside the Paint - Tuesday
By Chris David
After Monday’s monster 12-game card, the NBA tempers the pace tonight with just three games on the docket. The last week of the regular season has a bunch of meaningless matchups and while tonight’s trio has some intrigue, gamblers might want to be a little hesitant when running to the counter. No overnight lines have been posted on the below matchups due to the uncertainty surrounding the status of numerous players.
Miami at Atlanta: This battle from Philips Arena will be a playoff preview between the two teams, with the Hawks and Heat are slated to meet in the first-round of the upcoming postseason. Atlanta locked up the No. 4 seed last week, and Miami just clinched the fifth seed with its victory over New York on Sunday and the 76ers’ loss to Toronto. Since neither team can move up or down, this contest definitely falls into the meaningless category.
Atlanta has won and covered two of its three meetings against Miami this year, including a 91-83 victory on Feb. 27 as a 5 ½-point home favorite. All three of the games have gone ‘under’ the total in the regular season.
The Hawks have done a good job against Dwyane Wade this year, holding the All-Star to 25.6 points per game in the three encounters. Wade is not expected to play for the Heat on Tuesday, nor will Jermaine O’Neal, Udonis Haslem and a few other regulars as well.
Boston at Philadelphia: The Celtics clinched the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference on Saturday after the Magic lost to New Jersey in East Rutherford. After sealing the second position, Doc Rivers’ troops played with no urgency in their 31-point (107-76) loss to Cleveland on Easter Sunday. The point total was the lowest of the season and not surprising considering it came against the stifling defense of the Cavs. Kevin Garnett sat out again and is expected to miss tonight too for Boston, plus most would expect the second unit to garner more minutes again.
Last year, Philadelphia faded at the end of the regular season with a 1-5 record. This year, the 76ers own a five-game (1-4 ATS) losing streak with two contests to play. Currently, the club is penciled into the No. 6 seed but could easily fall into the seventh or eighth spot. Either way you look at it, playing Cleveland, Boston or Orlando is no easy out and most pundits would expect the 76ers to be handed an early exit.
The Celtics have won all three meetings against the 76ers this year, which included a 100-99 thrilling victory in Philadelphia on Feb. 3. Boston captured the win when Ray Allen drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with .5 seconds left on the clock. Garnett did not play in this game as well. Two of the three games went ‘over’ the closing total this season.
Utah at L.A. Lakers: Playing in back-to-back nights has been an absolute nightmare for Utah this year. Jerry Sloan’s squad is a horrendous 3-17 SU and 5-15 ATS. The club has a chance to change those numbers tonight when they meet the Lakers at Staples Center, which hasn’t been a kind venue to Utah. The Jazz have lost eight straight road battles to the Lakers, six of them coming by double digits too.
If Utah does have a shot to beat L.A. on the road, it could be tonight. The Lakers might rest some of their starters, since they clinched the No. 1 seed in the West and they could be out of the race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs as well.
The Lakers are 2-1 both SU and ATS against the Jazz this year, with their only setback (113-99) coming on Feb. 11 in Salt Lake City. Total players backing the ‘over’ in this head-to-head series have profited lately a 5-0 run, including all three this year.
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NBA Today
SCOREBOARD
Tuesday, April 14
Utah at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 p.m. EDT). The Jazz visit the Lakers in what could be a preview of the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers will be seeded first in the West and Utah likely will be No. 8.
STARS
Monday
— J.R. Smith, Nuggets, scored a career-high 45 points and made a franchise-best 11 3-pointers to help Denver clinch the Northwest Division title with a 118-98 win over Sacramento.
— LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored 37 points as Cleveland clinched the NBA’s best record with a 117-109 win over Indiana.
— Chris Bosh, Raptors, made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 9.9 seconds left and had 25 points and 15 rebounds in Toronto’s 97-96 victory over Washington.
— Brook Lopez, Nets, had 18 points and a career-best 20 rebounds as New Jersey beat Charlotte 91-87.
— Drew Gooden, Spurs, had 20 points and 15 rebounds to lead San Antonio over Golden State 101-72.
— Carlos Boozer, Jazz, had 20 points and 13 rebounds in Utah’s 106-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
— Steve Nash, Suns, had 18 points and 12 assists as Phoenix beat Memphis 119-110.
NUGGETS’ NIGHT
Denver clinched the Northwest Division title with a 118-98 victory over Sacramento behind a career-best 45 points from reserve J.R. Smith. The Nuggets also tied the franchise record for most wins in a season with 54 and wrapped up no worse than the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Golden State’s Anthony Randolph had career bests of 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Warriors’ 101-72 loss to San Antonio. … Hakim Warrick made his first 10 shots, tying a team single-game record, and scored 26 points as Memphis lost to Phoenix 119-110. Rudy Gay also scored 26. … Ike Diogu scored a career-high 32 points in Sacramento’s 118-98 loss to Denver. … Danny Granger scored 38 points in Indiana’s 117-109 loss to Cleveland.
EIGHT’S THEIR FATE
With their 91-88 loss to Chicago on Monday, the Detroit Pistons are guaranteed the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who have made six straight trips to the conference finals, will have to face the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the NBA’s best record, in the first round.
NO KG
The Boston Celtics have decided against bringing Kevin Garnett back before the playoffs. Garnett has missed 21 of the team’s last 25 games due to a strained right knee, and he’ll add two more games to that total when he sits out the final two of the regular season. Coach Doc Rivers decided that since the games were meaningless, there was no point in putting Garnett back out there.
SPEAKING
“I could have bounced it off the floor and it would have went in.”— Denver’s J.R. Smith after scoring a career-high 45 points and making a franchise-best 11 3-pointers in the Nuggets’ 118-98 victory over Sacramento.
MIAMI vs. ATLANTA
Miami is 12-5 ATS in its last 17 games when playing Atlanta
Miami is 16-6 SU in its last 22 games when playing Atlanta
Atlanta is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games
Atlanta is 12-6 SU in its last 18 games
BOSTON vs. PHILADELPHIA
Boston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games
Philadelphia is 1-6-1 ATS in its last 8 games when playing at home against Boston
Philadelphia is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Boston
UTAH vs. LA LAKERS
Utah is 4-9-1 ATS in their last 14 games when playing LA Lakers
Utah is 4-10 SU in their last 14 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers are 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games
LA Lakers are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games
Hot Teams
-- Hawks won their last three games by 8-8-4 points.
-- Celtics won six of their last seven games.
-- Lakers won six of their last seven games.
Cold Teams
-- Miami lost six of its last nine games.
-- 76ers lost their last five games (1-4 vs spread).
-- Jazz lost six of their last eight games.
Totals
-- Last five Atlanta games went over the total.
-- Four of last five Boston games went over the total.
-- Three of last four Laker games went over the total.
MIAMI (42 - 38) at ATLANTA (46 - 34)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
MIAMI is 7-4 against the spread versus ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI is 6-5 straight up against ATLANTA over the last 3 seasons
8 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON (60 - 20) at PHILADELPHIA (40 - 40)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
BOSTON is 7-4 against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
BOSTON is 7-4 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
UTAH (48 - 33) at LA LAKERS (64 - 17)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 9-5 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 10-5 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
11 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
MIAMI at ATLANTA
MIAMI: 23-9 OVER after failing to cover 2 of their last 3
ATLANTA: 12-26 ATS after 3+ consecutive overs
BOSTON at PHILADELPHIA
BOSTON: 31-15 ATS vs. division opponents
PHILADELPHIA: 1-5 ATS revenging a loss by 3 or less
UTAH at LA LAKERS
UTAH: 5-15 ATS in BB games
LA LAKERS: 39-21 OVER revenging a road loss
Tuesday NBA Research
By Indiancowboy
Miami vs. Atlanta
I don't believe Atlanta is planning to rest its starts, this game reminds me a bit of Milwaukee/Orlando yesterday, Miami plans to rest O'Neal, Wade and Moon it seems as Wade and Moon are Questionable and O'Neal is definitely out. If anything, a lean on the Hawks here as besides their backup center, they don't plan on resting anyone. Nevertheless, Miami still has some young guys who can ball, but the Hawks likely carry the banner with a dd win at the end of the day. Over 70% favor the Heat without knowing this I beleive in the consensus polls.
Utah vs. L.A. Lakers
The Lakers may rest their starters today as they have clinched teh #2 overall seed, Okur is questionable, Miles is questionable and Williams is Probable. Lakers took it to Memphis and Utah took it to the Clippers, the last 5 times these two teams have met, the game went Over. Lean on the Jazz and the Over here despite the Lakers having a bit of revenge.