Game 1 Los Angeles Clippers vs Utah Jazz Betting Odds, Lines Picks & Predictions

The Clippers and the Jazz will tip-off their 2nd round series on Tuesday at the Vivint Smart Home Arena. The LA team is coming off a grueling 7-game series against the Mavericks which ended only two days ago. After being 2-0 down, the Clippers managed to dig themselves out of a hole and win 4 out of the last 5 games to win the series 4-3. Over the whole season, they’re 51-28 SU and 43-35-1 ATS. The Jazz earned themselves a couple of extra days of rest as they needed only 5 games to eliminate the Grizzlies. They played their last game on Wednesday. After finishing with the best record in the regular season, Utah is now 56-21 overall. Against the spread, they’re 45-31-1. This will be the fourth matchup between these two teams this season. So far, the Jazz have been more successful, winning two times.

Line Movement

Utah enters this matchup as a favorite. The opening odds favored them by -4 but, right now, the line is at -3.5. The total opened at 221 but has also seen some movement, going down to 220.

Notes on Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are coming into this series with only a day of rest after completing the hard-fought series against Dallas. We’ll see how well they have managed to recover and prepare in just one day. Another big question is will coach Lue stick with the small-ball lineup that brought them success in the closing games of the Dallas series. Staying small will bring them more floor spacing and improved shooting from the deep. However, they will lose size on defense where they’ll have to go against Rudy Gobert under the rim. It’s plausible that we’ll see Zubac reinstated into starting 5 and, perhaps, Patrick Beverley as well. Utah is a much deeper team than the Mavs and features multiple threats, so the Clips will need all the help they can get. The encouraging sign for the Clippers is the return of Kahwi Leonard to his best form. After a monster performance in Game 6, Kahwi was again excellent on Sunday. In Game 7, he scored 28 points and added 10 rebounds and 9 assists.

Serge Ibaka remains out for the Clippers.

Notes on Utah Jazz

After allowing the upset in Game 1 against Memphis, the Jazz have won four straight and shown why they are the top seed. Since the return of Donovan Mitchell in game 2, Utah’s offense has been unstoppable scoring 127 points per game in the last 4 outings. The defense was shaky at times as they struggled to deal with Ja Morant and have allowed Memphis to score 110 or more points in each game of the series. Still, with almost a full week to prepare, expect coach Snyder to sort things out on that end. The only concern for the Jazz is the health of Mike Conley. Utah’s point guard is struggling with a hamstring injury and is still uncertain for Game 1. Tuesday. This could be an issue for the Jazz, as he’s their only consisted shot-creator besides Mitchell. Utah has plenty of quality shooters, but most of them can’t create their own shot.

At the moment, Mike Conley is listed as questionable. He’s the only name on the injury report for Utah.

Betting Pick: Utah -3.5

The extra rest and fresher legs give Utah the edge in this matchup. Plus, they’re traditionally tough to beat at home. They covered in four straight games and are 25-12 ATS at home this season. This will likely be a long series but the advantage in the Game 1 is on Utah’s side.