There appears to be a very big difference in talent levels when you look at the Western Conference in comparison to the Eastern Conference. If you were to bet right now, I would imagine that most of you would have the winner of the NBA championship this season being one of maybe 3 or 4 teams from the West. The Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams in the East who are looking to prove that they can go head to head with the best in the West. Before they get a shot to do that, though, they are going to have to take down one of the lesser teams from the opposing conference. The Hawks will head to Utah to face a Jazz team that is still alive in the playoff picture, but which is just not playing well enough right now to close the gap. It is certainly going to be interesting to see how this one plays out, and if you have an idea as to how you think it might go, why not wager on this one NBA betting spread.

Betting on Atlanta Hawks vs Utah Jazz Pro Hoops Lines

When: Tuesday, March 8 at 9 PM EST Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City TV: ROOT Radio: WCNN and KZNS Live Stream: NBA Stream NBA Odds: TBA

Why bet on the Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks (35-28) have been one of the ore frustrating teams to watch this season, as they seem to switch between being great to downright awful on a nightly basis. This is a team that has failed to live up to the high standards they set for themselves last season, but who still have a legitimate shot at winning their own division this year. They are two games back of the Miami Heat in the Southeast right now, but are playing very well on their Western road swing. The Hawks have already taken down the Lakers and the Clippers, and were unlucky to lose to the Warriors in OT to get the trip started. The Hawks lost by a point to the Jazz earlier in the year, and will be out for revenge here. Atlanta is averaging 102.4 PPG, and are giving up 99.4 PPG.

Why bet on the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz (29-33) had, for the very briefest of moments, the #8 seed in the West, but they have gone on a losing skid since landing that spot. They are now back in the #9 spot, and find themselves a game and a half back of the Houston Rockets for the final playoff spot. They landed there on the back of a 5-game losing skid, but have seen a little glimmer of hope begin to shine after taking out the Pelicans 106-94 in their last game. The Jazz are a solid 19-12 at home this season, but have struggled against teams with winning records, going 13-21 overall against that group. Prior to beating the Hawks earlier this season, the Jazz had dropped 8-straight to Atlanta. Utah are averaging 97.9 PPG, and are giving up 97.2 PPG.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

While the Jazz have to be happy about breaking out of their losing skid, they are still a team headed in the wrong direction. Atlanta have looked very good on this road trip, and I like them to extend their win streak to 3.