The surprise Utah Jazz will travel to Minneapolis to face their rivals from the Northwest division, the Minnesota Timberwolves, during the first week of the NBA season. Check out our NBA oddsseries to see our prediction and choice for the Jazz-Timberwolves matchup.
After a total roster upheaval in the offseason that included the losses of longtime Jazz stalwarts Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, it seemed as though Utah was entering a period of rebuilding. But the revamped Jazz dominated the Denver Nuggets at home and caused some commotion in the NBA. It is common for fans to overreact to a team’s performance in its first few games, but it is entirely feasible for the Utah club to perform better than expected and compete in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Rudy Gobert, a former big man with the Jazz, will undoubtedly face off against his previous team and command the most of the headlines coming into this game. After playing in Utah for all 10 of his seasons, Gobert now teams up with Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota to form a sort of Twin Towers that will undoubtedly lead the opposition of the Timberwolves to develop grey hair as the season goes on. Expectations for Minnesota haven’t been this high since Kevin Garnett was winning the Most Valuable Player Award in the North Star State, especially with another year of growth from Anthony Edwards.
These NBA odds between the Jazz and Timberwolves are provided by FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Jazz-Timberwolves Odds
Jazz of Utah: +8.5 (-110)
-8.5 Minnesota Timberwolves (-110)
Over: 226.5 (-110) (-110)
Under: 226.5 (-110)
Why The Jazz Could Cover The Spread
Utah looked like a dominant force in every facet of the game on Wednesday, leading the Nuggets by as many as 19 points before closing off an outstanding season opener by defeating Denver 123-102. In addition to that, what was even more impressive was their ability to appear to be such a well-oiled machine with what appeared to be a negligible number of reps between all of the new faces in Salt Lake City. PG Collin Sexton’s 20 points off the bench or Lauri Markkanen’s 50% field goal shooting indicate that the Jazz have some snazzy new tools to use against the Timberwolves.
Utah will need a team effort from several players in the rotation to attack Minnesota if they are to perform well in back-to-back games and cover the spread in doing so. The Jazz had five players score in double figures and shot 48% from the field overall against Denver. It should be a top priority to go for high-percentage looks and to draw fouls from the Wolves’ big-man duo of Towns and Gobert.
Not to mention that the Jazz must maintain their momentum from downtown. Utah will need to find their sharpshooters to provide them with huge buckets down the stretch given their 42% shooting percentage against Denver. This Jazz team will undoubtedly experience growing pains as they continue to work as a team, but for now, if they follow the same formula for success as the other night, they will undoubtedly give the Wolves a run for their money.
Why The Timberwolves Could Cover The Spread
The harsher the fall is when expectations aren’t met, the higher the expectations are at the start of the season. Minnesota took care of business by destroying the Thunder 115-108 while keeping this worry in the back of their minds. This allowed them to see for the first time just how dominant Rudy Gobert can be on the court. Good news thus far, In fact, with a team-high 23 points and a staggering 16 rebounds, the tall Frenchman may have been the greatest player on the court. If Gobert can put together another outstanding offensive performance against his former team, the T-Wolves, who have been a defensive powerhouse throughout his career and won the DPOY award three times, will be difficult to stop.
The dominating defensive attack of Minnesota is another aspect of their game that can doom Utah. The defence tightened the screws on OKC after the offence did its job by scoring 115 points in the victory over the Thunder. By game’s end, the T-Wolves had restricted the Thunder to 38% shooting and just 31% from three. Simply simply, Minnesota might force the Jazz to work harder to score, which might be a significant benefit.
Last but not least, keep an eye out for PG D’Angelo Russell to build on a strong performance in the team’s first game. Russell finished the game with 20 points, and if he can maintain that kind of offensive output throughout the season, he may be on the verge of becoming an All-Star.
Final Jazz-Timberwolves Prediction & Pick
Under first-year coach Will Hardy and with 10 new players, the Jazz achieved a memorable victory. However, it will be challenging to play a complete game in back-to-back games with this much change. Expect Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves to come out with their hair on fire in what should be a decisive victory because they are already up 1-0 in front of their home crowd.
Jazz-Timberwolves, the final Pick and Prediction: Timberwolves -8.5 (-110)
NBA Odds: Jazz vs. Timberwolves pick, odds, and prediction – 10/21/2022 was originally published on ClutchPoints.
