Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 21/11/2023, 08:33  by Joseph King | Modified on 21/11/2023 at 09:11 in NBA Prediction

The LA Lakers host the Utah Jazz for the final West: Group A game of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament on Tuesday. Los Angeles leads the pack with a 3-0 record while the Jazz sit right behind them in second with a 2-1 record. The Lakers can secure first-place and an automatic spot in the quarter-finals with a victory. A win for the Jazz would see them leapfrog the Lakers for first-place but they would then have to hope that the Suns lose one of their last two.

Los Angeles have been on a roll lately after a difficult start to the season which saw them with just three wins from their first eight games. Since then, however, the Lake Show have now won five of their last six to pull themselves up to sixth in the West with an 8-6 record. Los Angeles held on for a 105-104 win over the Rockets in their most recent appearance on Sunday, picking up their second straight win and their sixth win in seven games at the Crypto.com Arena. LeBron James has dialed back the clock in recent outings and is averaging 33.3 points per game along with 9.7 assists.

The Utah Jazz are struggling and look like they’ll find it tough to keep pace for a play-in spot. They currently sit 12th in the Western Conference with a 4-9 record and are looking to break out of a two game losing streak. Utah’s last outing resulted in a brutal double-overtime 140-137 home  loss to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. The Achilles’ heel for the Jazz this season has been their poor defense where they are giving up the fifth-most points per game at 122.0. They’ve been gashed for 130 points or more in four of their last six games.