After stealing Game 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers and putting up a good effort in their 99-91 Game 2 loss on Tuesday night, Gordon Hayward and the upstart Utah Jazz will be back at home on Friday night looking to take a 2-1 lead in their first round Western Conference playoff series. Now, let’s find out if the Jazz will ‘strike up the band’ when they take to the court for Game 3. Find the latest NBA betting lines here.
“I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside,” said Griffin. “It was a point of emphasis. But yeah, when we’re hitting outside shots and putting pressure on teams inside, it is another level, but those games aren’t always going to happen. L.A. also got 18 points and 15 rebounds from center DeAndre Jordan and 10 points from Jamal Crawford in the win.
All-star forward Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 20 points while Derrick Favors and Joe Johnson each added 13 point in the loss. Unfortunately, Hayward shot just 5-for-15 from the field and Utah’s league-leading defense allowed L.A. to shoot a blistering 52.4 percent in the loss.
“I think we’ve got to be better executing our game plan,” Hayward said. “Especially there in the first quarter, it seemed like (Jordan) got a lot of easy stuff right there at the rim, easy dunks, lobs, and some of that’s what they do. They’re good at it. They’re a good team, but we for sure have to be better. I think we will be.”
Even in defeat, the Jazz can take heart in the fact that they never quit and the lippers could never put them away whenever it looked like they would pull away. The Jazz closed to within six points on five occasions in the fourth quarter before the Clippers closed the Jazz out.
“They’re a team that they keep fighting,” Griffin said. “They keep executing. I’ve said it over and over, but they’re really well-coached. They don’t panic.”
Throw in the fact that the Clippers continually underachieve at the worst moment possible and it’s easy to see why the Jazz are the pick to get the win and ATS cover. The Clippers are just 1-5 ATS in their last six conference quarterfinal games and an identical 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams from the Northwest division.
Conversely, Utah has gone 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games, 3-1-1 ATS in their last five home games and 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 home games against a team with a winning road record. The Jazz get the home win and ATS cover people!
A Closer Look At The Los Angeles Clippers Vs Utah Jazz NBA Game 3 Winning Favorites
When: Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10:00 PM ET Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah TV: ESPN Live Stream: Watch ESPN NBA Odds: Utah Jazz -1 / Total: 197Why Bet The Los Angeles Clippers Odds at +1
The best reason to back the Clippers (52-32 SU, 40-43-1 ATS) in Game 3 is that they have more postseason experience and quality scorers than the Jazz. The Clippers took Game 2 as Blake Griffin scored a game-high 24 point and Chris Paul added 21 points, 10 assists and three steals. With center Rudy Gobert out of the lineup for Utah after suffering a hyperextended knee in the opening seconds of Game 1, the Clippers dominated the low post by outscoring Utah 60-38 in the paint.“I thought we did a good job of getting the ball inside,” said Griffin. “It was a point of emphasis. But yeah, when we’re hitting outside shots and putting pressure on teams inside, it is another level, but those games aren’t always going to happen. L.A. also got 18 points and 15 rebounds from center DeAndre Jordan and 10 points from Jamal Crawford in the win.
Why Bet The Utah Jaz Odds at -1
The best reasons to back Utah (52-32 SU, 38-42-4 ATS) in Game 3 is that they’ve shown no fear whatsoever against the Clippers in two games and actually outscored them in the second half of Game 3.All-star forward Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 20 points while Derrick Favors and Joe Johnson each added 13 point in the loss. Unfortunately, Hayward shot just 5-for-15 from the field and Utah’s league-leading defense allowed L.A. to shoot a blistering 52.4 percent in the loss.
“I think we’ve got to be better executing our game plan,” Hayward said. “Especially there in the first quarter, it seemed like (Jordan) got a lot of easy stuff right there at the rim, easy dunks, lobs, and some of that’s what they do. They’re good at it. They’re a good team, but we for sure have to be better. I think we will be.”
Even in defeat, the Jazz can take heart in the fact that they never quit and the lippers could never put them away whenever it looked like they would pull away. The Jazz closed to within six points on five occasions in the fourth quarter before the Clippers closed the Jazz out.
“They’re a team that they keep fighting,” Griffin said. “They keep executing. I’ve said it over and over, but they’re really well-coached. They don’t panic.”
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction
There’s a reason why a whopping 62 percent of public bettors like Utah to win and cover the spread as slight, 1-point home favorites and it’ because the Jazz have actually outplayed the Clippers for the vast majority of the first two games of this series and are going to back at home in front of some of the most raucous fans in the NBA.Throw in the fact that the Clippers continually underachieve at the worst moment possible and it’s easy to see why the Jazz are the pick to get the win and ATS cover. The Clippers are just 1-5 ATS in their last six conference quarterfinal games and an identical 1-5 ATS in their last six games against teams from the Northwest division.
Conversely, Utah has gone 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games, 3-1-1 ATS in their last five home games and 15-7-1 ATS in their last 23 home games against a team with a winning road record. The Jazz get the home win and ATS cover people!
