NBA New Orleans vs Utah Free Pick
July 30, 2020
The NBA returns tonight from the corona-virus hiatus. The NBA is playing in the “bubble” created in Orlando Florida. The rest of the season will feature 22 teams vying for the usual 16 playoffs spots. Firmly planted in the running is the Utah Jazz. They are in fourth place overall in the West with a record of 41-23.
The Pelicans are not in as-good a position. They are in tenth place in the West and have a record of 28-36. They are fighting for their playoff lives.
The Jazz will be without team top three point shooter Bojan Bogdanovic who ended his season to get wrist surgery. Utah scores 111 PPG and allows 107 PPG.
New Orleans star Zion Williamson is expected to play tonight. There was some doubt after he left the NBA bubble last week to deal with “personal issues”. It should be noted that he missed practice this week and may get limited time tonight. The Pelicans allow 117 PPG and score 116.2 PPG. The Pelicans rely heavily on the 3-ball as they are third in the league in three point scoring and average 14 threes per game.
The point spread currently has New Orleans favored -2 points. The total is 228 points. 47% of the money is on Utah and 53% is on New Orleans. I like the Utah Jazz in this one.
