Utah Jazz vs Dallas Mavericks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 23/12/2021, 19:36  by Joseph King | Modified on 24/12/2021 at 01:36 in NBA Predictions

The Dallas Mavericks head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz for the fifth and final game on the Christmas Day schedule. Utah is having another solid regular season, they are 22-9 and currently occupy the third seed in the Western Conference. Jazz fans probably feel a tinge of disrespect when the Suns, Warriors and Nets dominate the conversation for ‘best team in the league’ - and rightly so, this team deserves to be in that discussion. Utah is one of the few teams that hasn’t been hit hard by COVID, meaning we will see their best possible team in this one. The same cannot be said for the Mavericks however, as their young Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic is a risk to miss out. Dallas is heavily dependent on Doncic as their primary ball handler, scorer and playmaker - his absence completely changes their gameplan. The Mavericks have been struggling this year and are 15-16, putting them seventh in the West and just barely squeaking into those final playoff positions. 

A strong case can be made that the Utah Jazz have the deepest team in the league. They’ve developed a well-balanced squad over the last few seasons and have all the ingredients to make a deep playoff run. Superstars Mitchell and Gobert grab the attention but the other contributors like Bogdanovic, Conley and Clarkson really make this team tick. Utah has historically been one of the bigger home court advantages in the league and the Jazz will look to add another win to their 12-6 home record. This Jazz team, with the same core of players, finished first in the West last season and only lost five total games at home. Utah should have no problems dispatching Dallas here, even with Luka Doncic playing. If he’s out this one could turn into a blowout.