NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Utah Jazz Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in Salt Lake City, where they meet with the Utah Jazz. This will be the second time these two units meet in the 2022/23 campaign, so they already know one another very well. The Jazzers are still in the mix for reaching the play-in tournament, while on the other end, the Cavaliers sit fourth in the East, looking like a team that could do a lot in the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell faces his former team, and you bet he has plenty of motive for putting up an excellent show.

Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers (26-15, -165) have four wins in the past five games, with the sole loss coming to the Denver Nuggets, who were better than them at the Ball Arena. Though, the Cavs appeared without Mitchell in that one.

The Cavs bounced back in the very next matchup, which was against the Phoenix Suns in Arizona, beating the banged-up hosts 112-98. Cleveland was very impressive in the final period once they outscored the rivals 32-19. The top two scorers among the visitors were Garland and Mitchell, with 22 buckets each.

Evan Mobley and Isaac Okoro added 14 each, while Jarett Allen and Caris LeVert scored 13. Allen had 12 boards with that and was shooting 6-for-7 from the field. The Cavs shot very well, hitting 57.7% from the field.

Utah Jazz (20-23, +140), on the other hand, won just one game in the previous five. The last three were on the road, where that win came. It was in Houston against the Rockets, but after that, the team from Salt Lake lost two, in Chicago and Memphis.

The one against the franchise from Tennessee saw a routine defeat, 123-118. Memphis was without Ja Morant and still got to beat the rivals without any particular trouble. As for the Jazzers, we saw them constantly behind throughout the entire event, trying to get back into the game, yet unsuccessful.

Markkanen had 21 points and eight boards, and Olynik scored 19, also with eight boards. Jordan Clarkson was ejected in the third, and up until that point, he had 17 buckets. He is kinda tensed these days, often getting into heated situations. By the way, he rejected the extension offer recently, and that might have something with it.

Head to Head Games

The first game of the year was in Cleveland, and the hosts won, 122-99. Mitchel had 23 points, Cedi Osman had 22, and Jarrett Allen posted a double-double with 20 buckets and 11 boards. Among the Jazzers, Markkanen had a team-high 24 points, and Jordan Clarkson had 23. Only Walker Kessler had a double-digit number of buckets, with 11.

Prediction

This should be a win for the guests, who are in excellent shape, yet we aren’t going with that pick. For us, it is much safer to bet on Over, with the line currently sitting at 227 points. The offensive potential of both sides is pretty high, and there should be plenty of room for scorers on both ends to show their capabilities. Also, Mitchell will have a massive motive to score as many points as possible in his first comeback to Utah.

Pick: Over 227 points -110