After brushing aside opponent after opponent, today’s Jazz vs Nuggets matchup stands to present a serious challenge to Utah’s stunning win streak?
The Jazz enter today with 11 wins in a row, which has propelled them to the top of the Western Conference standings. NBA championship odds are still holding off on considering the Jazz as a contender on the level of the Lakers, Clippers, Nets, or Bucks, but this streak has put the Western Conference and the NBA on notice.
Will it come to an end today in Denver? The Nuggets have been playing well as of late and have a bona fide NBA MVP candidate leading the way in Nikola Jokic. NBA odds for this matchup actually view the Nuggets as the favorite, but will things play out that way?
Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets Betting Odds and Information
- Matchup: Utah Jazz (15-4, 7-2 away, 1st in the Western Conference) vs Denver Nuggets (11-8, 4-5 home, 4th in the Western Conference)
- Date: Sunday, January 31, 2021
- Time: 3:30 pm ET/1:30 pm MT
- Location: Denver, Colorado (Ball Arena)
- TV: NBATV
- Spread: Jazz -2.5 (-105), Nuggets +2.5 (-115)
- Total: OVER 221 (-110), UNDER 221 (-110)
- Moneyline: Jazz -132, Nuggets +112
Odds via Fanduel as of Sunday, January 31 at 12:20 pm ET (Updated)
Utah Jazz Betting Preview
There are a lot of impressive things about the Jazz’s win streak, but the most impressive one is that 10 of the 11 wins have come by double digits. The only one that did not come by double digits was a 109-105 win two weeks ago in their last trip to Denver.
Donovan Mitchell, who missed the two wins over the Mavericks on Wednesday and Friday after suffering a concussion Tuesday against the Knicks, is listed as questionable for today’s game. The Jazz dealt well with his absence, as Jordan Clarkson stepped up with 31 on Wednesday and Bojan Bogdanovic posted a season-high 32 on Friday. That said, the struggling Mavericks are one thing, and the Nuggets are another. If Mitchell is out again today, his absence could be pivotal. (Update: Mitchell has been upgraded to PROBABLE and thus should play today.)
But it is highly encouraging for the Jazz that Bogdanovic lit up the Mavericks on Friday after struggling for most of the season. Bogdanovic made 10 of 16 from the field and seven of 11 from three in posting his first 30+ point performance since March 7 of last year.
While Utah’s offensive exploits certainly deserve a lot of attention, it is not to be overlooked that Rudy Gobert is in the midst of his own impressive individual run. Gobert has posted eight straight double-doubles, and he has double-digit rebounds in 14 straight games. The highlight of the bunch came on Wednesday, when he posted a season-high 29 points and 20 rebounds against the Mavs.
Denver Nuggets Betting Preview
The Nuggets saw a five-game winning streak come to an end in Friday’s road loss to the San Antonio Spurs, but they have gotten going after a subpar start. After losing to the Mavs in overtime on January 7, the Nuggets were 3-5. Since then, they are 8-3.
Most of that success has come on the road, with eight of their last 11 games coming away from Denver. But they pushed the Jazz closer than anyone else has in recent weeks, and they will bring a lot of confidence into today’s matchup.
A big reason for that confidence is the current play of Nikola Jokic, who is having his own impressive double-double run. Jokic has registered at least a double-double in all 19 of his games this season, and he has five triple-doubles. As a result, he is among the pack of NBA MVP favorites that includes LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid.
If the Nuggets are to win today, they will need a better team effort than they got in San Antonio. Jokic scored 35 points against the Spurs and Jamal Murray added 20.. But no one else scored more than 11 points, and there were only two other double-digit scorers.
Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets Betting Stats and Trends
Utah Jazz Stat Sheet
Offense
- PPG: 113.4 (9th in the NBA)
- FG: 46.2 percent (13th)
- 3PT: 39.8 percent (2nd)
Defense
- PPG: 105.1 (3rd)
- FG: 44.1 percent (2nd)
- 3PT: 34.5 percent (4th)
Utah Jazz Recent Form (Last Five: 5-0)
- 1/29/21: Utah Jazz 120-101 Dallas Mavericks
- 1/27/21: Utah Jazz 116-104 Dallas Mavericks
- 1/26/21: Utah Jazz 108-94 New York Knicks
- 1/23/21: Utah Jazz 127-108 Golden State Warriors
- 1/21/21: Utah Jazz 129-118 New Orleans Pelicans
Denver Nuggets Stat Sheet
Offense
- PPG: 116.0 (3rd)
- FG: 48.0 percent (3rd)
- 3PT: 37.3 percent (11th)
Defense
- PPG: 111.4 (18th)
- FG: 47.4 percent (24th)
- 3PT: 37.2 percent (19th)
Denver Nuggets Recent Form (Last Five: 4-1)
- 1/29/21: San Antonio Spurs 119-109 Denver Nuggets
- 1/27/21: Miami Heat 82-109 Denver Nuggets
- 1/25/21: Dallas Mavericks 113-117 Denver Nuggets
- 1/23/21: Phoenix Suns 112-120 Denver Nuggets (2OT)
- 1/22/21: Phoenix Suns 126-130 Denver Nuggets (OT)
Jazz vs Nuggets Top Betting Trend
- Jamal Murray has averaged 17.8 points per game against the Jazz in 15 career games, the seventh-highest average he has against any team. Murray has scored 20+ points in each of his last five regular-season games against Utah, including 30 last time out. Murray’s point total for today is 19.5 (O -110, U -110).
Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets Betting Advice
The Jazz have had an amazing run over the last three weeks. But all good things must come to an end. Two weeks ago, the Nuggets were a couple of stops and bounces away from ending the Jazz’s streak at four games. Today, those stops and bounces will go their way, even if Mitchell returns. The Nuggets have been on their own nice run as of late, and they will have a happy return home this afternoon.
Jazz vs Nuggets Best Bets
- Denver Nuggets ML
- Denver Nuggets +2.5
- OVER 220 (-110)
