NBA: Utah Jazz VS Washington Wizards Pick and Predictions 11/12/2022

Game: 6:10 PM ET,  Saturday, November 12th, 2022

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington DC

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Jazz: 10-3, 1st place Western Conference

Wizards: 6-6, 6th place Eastern Conference

An inter conference NBA matchup between the best of the West and the 6-6-6 of the East.  The Utah Jazz are having fun and loving basketball and every single TV prognosticator is describing them wrong.  The Jazz are not a collection of “nobodies” of “role players” of “kids”... They are actually a team with a BIG Three… Only that Big Three has been overlooked by recent circumstance.  The Jazz’s 3 stars are 1) SF Lauri Makkanen… Lauri was a teenage 7th overall pick in the 2017 draft.. He was immediately overwhelmed by the NBA and he was soon missing games and seasons because of injury.  He was also deferring to star players on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls.  Now he is in his mid-20’s… Now he is healthy… and finally the world is seeing a guy who had a high enough ceiling to go 7th in the draft as a foreign teenager… and he doesn’t have to defer to anyone. He is leading the Jazz with 22.7 points a game and that average will go up.  2) SG Jordan Clarkson an offensively gifted guy who has been forced to give up shots to Kobe Bryant and Donovan Mitchell over the course of his career… That was a mistake.  Jordan is good enough to take over games… he is also proving to be a great teammate in a great team situation.  3) SG Collin Sexton. Collin was also a teenage high draft pick who immediately averaged 20 points per game for a losing Cavs franchise… then suffered a season missing  injury. He is now healthy… getting close to 20 ppg again… and coming off the bench.  This team has three stars in the hands of PG and savvy veteran floor general Mike Conley… Good luck everyone else.. This winning is no joke!  The Washington Wizards are trying to shake off the identity of perennial league losers. They still have longtime star SG Bradley Beal… who is leading the team in scoring but averaging about 9 points per game less than his recent glory days.  He should have asked out years ago…. But he is paid a lot of money. Former Unicorn C Kristaps Porzingas still has all the intangibles but the shine is gone.  He can produce… the knock on him is he doesn’t yet play well with others.  SF Kyle Kuzma just had a big big game of 36 points and 11 rebounds.. It lifted his scoring average to 17.7 on the season.. The team does not need Kuzma to sometimes hit 9 points and sometimes 36 points… they need him to find a happy middle and hit it every night.

The Utah Jazz are the best thing about basketball.  They are walking, talking, playing proof that at any time in the NBA young guys will take over for the older stars and we will all have to figure out who are the current stars at all times.  This season’s all-star team will have many many new faces.  The Jazz are on a 4-game winning streak… last beating the Atlanta Hawks 125 - 119. In that win they got 32 points from SF Lauri Markkanen, 23 points form SG Jordan Clarkson, and 18 points from Malik Beasley.. Even more encouraging is that SG Collin Sexton had an atrocious night with only 3 points on 1-6 shooting in 13 minutes… when you can yank a core guy from the rotation and still get the W… and still hold 1st place?... You have real depth.

The Washington Wizards have all the ingredients to make a GREAT team!  They really do.  A 3 time All-star shooting Guard paired with a Giant 7’4 Center who is very skilled and a young forward who can hit shots, grab rebounds and make hustle plays.. It all works.  Except the winning part has been elusive so far.  The Wizards are on a 2-game winning streak and have just reached .500 at the 12 game mark of the season.  Sadly this is the Wizards best opening stretch of 12 games in multiple seasons.  It will be tougher to win going forward as Porzingis missed the last game with a mild groin pull and may miss a few more… and Bradley Beal has entered the health and safety protocol for “illness”.... His timetable is up in the air.  The Wizards beat the Mavs in their last game 113 - 105 behind 36 points from SF Kyle Kuzma and 23 points from supersub PF Rui Hachimura.  With the Nets, 76ers, and Heat all starting the season badly… This is really the best time for the Wizards to finally put something together.

DraftKings:  Point Spread: Jazz -3.5; O/U 220.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Jazz -3; O/U 221

Fanduel: Point Spread: Jazz -3.5; O/U 220.5

Jazz: SF Lauri Makkanen, PF Kelly Olynyk, C Jarred Vanderbilt, SG Jordan Clarkson, PG Mike Conley

Wizards: PF Deni Avdija, SF Kyle Kuzma, C Anthony Gil, PG Monte Morris, SG Corey Kispert

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UTA: 10-3, 10-3 ATS, 6-7 O/U, 5-3 in road games.

WAS: 6-6, 6-5-1, 5-7 O/U, 3-3 in home games.

The Jazz are first in scoring with 118.8 points per game, 14th in rebounds with 44.7 per game, 12th in AST/To ratio with 1.7, and 14th in blocks with 5.5 per game.

The Wizards are 29th in scoring with 107.5 points per game, 16th in rebounds with 44.5 per game, 17th in AST/TO with 1.7, and 7th in blocked shots with 5.8 per game.

Our prediction for Saturday, November 12th is….  Jazz 125 - Wizards 108

Bet on the Jazz… The Jazz are killing the game and pouring in points from great team play at the moment.  The Jazz are also winning games on the road.  The Wizards will be missing Bradley Beal and possibly Kristaps Porzingis still… and while the Wizards beat the Mavs without those guys… The Jazz are a taller order scoring WAY more points per game.

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The Jazz are 7-0 when the total is 220 to 229.5 this season.

The Jazz are 6-1 off an upset win as an underdog this season.

The Wizards are 1 Over and 6 Under when the total is 220 or greater this season. 

Jazz:  PG Mike Conley.  This veteran floor general is holding these talented young players together.  That is a very big deal.  Mike is as talented as he is respected by the league and he is very respected.

Wizards:  SF Kyle Kuzma… Kyle is coming off of his best game of the season so far… as well as what may be the best game of his career.  How does he follow it up?

Jazz: Will “would ya believe I left my ID at home?” Hardy

Wizards: Wes “you know my name” Unseld Jr