New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 28/12/2023, 07:53  by Joseph King | Modified on 28/12/2023 at 12:00 in NBA Prediction

The seventh-place New Orleans Pelicans play host to the 12th-placed Utah Jazz for this Western Conference battle in the NBA on Thursday. New Orleans will look to put an end to their current losing streak which has seen them drop back-to-back games and three of the last four overall. The Pels most recent outing resulted in a brutal 116-115 overtime home loss to the Grizzlies on Tuesday. The result has them sitting seventh in the conference with their 17-12 record putting them just 1.5 games ahead of the 11th-place Warriors. They have a golden opportunity to bounce back with a victory against a Utah team that has struggled mightily on the road. New Orleans are in the midst of a lengthy homestand with this being the third of five straight at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans are 9-7 on their home court this season.

The Jazz are experiencing an uptick in form lately and come into this matchup riding a three-game winning streak. They’ve also won six of their last eight overall Their most recent game resulted in a 130-118 away victory over the San Antonio Spurs, marking the third straight game the Jazz have won on the road as well. However, it’s important to keep in perspective Utah’s recent results as two of their three away wins during this time have come against the 4-25 Spurs and the 2-28 Pistons. Nonetheless, the Jazz have improved their record to 13-18 on the season which has them trailing 10th-place Phoenix by 2.5 games for a spot in the play-in. This is the last of a five game road trip for Utah who will return back to Salt Lake City to take on the Heat on Saturday.