Utah Jazz vs San Antonio Spurs Odds, Props, Picks & Predictions (Dec. 26)
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The NBA public-betting splits for Utah vs San Antonio are heavily tilted towards the Jazz. Utah is getting 75% of ATS handle and 83% of moneyline handle.
UTA vs SA Injury Reports
Both teams are dealing with some injury issues heading into Tuesday night’s game. For the Jazz, guard Keyonte George (10.9 PPG, 5.0 APG) is out with a foot injury, while fellow guard Talen Horton-Tucker (11.4 PPG, 4.5 APG) is questionable with a foot injury of his own.
On the Spurs side, leading scorer and slight second-favorite in the NBA Rookie of the Year odds Victor Wembanyama (18.5 PPG, 10.7 RPG) is questionable with an ankle injury. Forward Zach Collins (13.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.4 APG) is listed as probable in today’s NBA lineups due to “knee soreness”.
Jazz Win Five of Seven Before Christmas Break
The short Christmas hiatus was likely an unwelcome sight for the Jazz. Utah entered the break playing its best basketball of the season, winning two straight and five of seven, including road victories over Portland, Detroit, and Toronto.
Since returning from a hamstring injury that kept him out for three weeks, leading scorer Lauri Markkanen (23.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG) has led the Jazz to a 3-2 record in five games, including a 30-point and nine-rebound performance last time out in a win over the Raptors (126-119).
For the season as a whole, Utah sits an ugly 25th in Offensive Rating (11.7), 24th in Defensive Rating (118.2), and 25th in Net Rating (-6.5). But that’s still nearly twice as strong as the Spurs, who are dead-last in the NBA (yes, even behind Detroit) with a -12.1 Net Rating. (The Pistons are -11.4.)
Spurs Struggling Everywhere
In Wembanyama’s first season, the 19-year-old Frenchman’s absurd talent level isn’t translating to team success for San Antonio. The Spurs’ 106.5 Offensive Rating isn’t just last in the league, it’s a full point lower than any other team. It’s also nearly two points lower than any team recorded last year (Charlotte was 30th at 108.4 last season).
Along with the Pistons and Blazers, the Spurs are one of just three teams that doesn’t have a player in the top 50 in Player Efficiency Rating. Wembanyama (18.1 PER) is the best on the team, but sits just 53rd in the NBA while shooting 43.5% from the floor and a woeful 27.9% from beyond the arc. Wembanyama is also committing 3.3 turnovers per game, which is the eighth-most in the NBA.
San Antonio’s current four-game skid has included four uncompetitive losses. The only game the Spurs covered in that span was a 132-119 setback at Milwaukee as 16.5-point underdogs, a game which they trailed by 18 after the first quarter.
The other setbacks during their four-game slide were a 36-point home loss to New Orleans (146-110), a 19-point road loss to Chicago (114-95), and a 25-point road loss to Dallas (144-119), which Wembanyama missed due to his ankle injury.
In short, an awful season has only been getting more unsightly of late.
Jazz vs Spurs Prediction
Utah has done an excellent job of beating the teams it should beat this season. The Jazz are 7-2 against Memphis, Portland, Detroit, and Chicago, and are 3-1 straight-up and ATS as the betting favorite.
Bettors can find the spread for this game at 2.5 on the DraftKings app, but the best moneyline price on Utah (-145) is at ESPN Bet, and I am rolling with Utah to maintain its dominance over bottom-tier teams on Tuesday night.
UTA vs SA pick: Jazz moneyline (-145) – two units
Sascha Paruk’s 2023-24 NBA betting record:
- 9-7-2 ATS (+1.03 units)
- 8-7 ML (+2.05 units)
- 5-11 player props (-6.6 units)
All wagers one unit unless expressly stated otherwise.
