Game Time: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 25th, 2022 

Venue:  Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Jazz -3; O/U 232.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Jazz -3; O/U 231.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Jazz -3.5; O/U 231.5

Jazz: 45-28, 4th place Western Conference

Hornets: 37-36, 9th place Eastern Conference

A non-conference NBA matchup that presents an obvious great betting opportunity. Everything obvious is not what it seems this season.  The Utah Jazz are chugging along in the Western Conference. The Jazz have two real stars in SG Donovan Mitchell and C Rudy Gobert.  Donovan is an offensive dynamo and a bit of a leader.  Rudy is perhaps the best defensive player in the league at any given time… and a bit of a follower.  The Jazz’s problem is they have never been able to lure top free agents… the result is they have to build from the ground up.  No matter how good a job they do building, it’s always less than simply signing a mid-tier free agent to take the power forward spot for the money Utah wants to pay.  The result is an always good team that never crests above the tallest waves.   The Hornets are in a similar boat.  They build through the draft and hope for good trades…. Because no one is walking through that door that wasn’t spurned elsewhere.  Still the Hornets have drafted well in the last few stabs.  They have 2nd year man PG LaMelo Ball and 4th year guy PF Miles Bridges who are approaching a big two!  The problem with the Hornets is they have no quality Center… in a matchup with Utah… it turns out you need a quality Center.

The Utah Jazz have won 5 of their last ten games.  They went 4-5-1 ATS during that stretch.  They are not a powerful team by any means.  A single injury or a single misstep can derail a Utah win.   They lost their last two games to the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets.. both were losses ATS.  The Jazz can handle a lot… just not a lot of the best teams.    In the Western Conference there is a noticeable break between the best teams and the “other” teams. That break is best defined as the difference between #3 Golden State Warriors and the #4 Utah Jazz. Everything above the Jazz belongs there.. From the Jazz on down every team is waiting to lose to on of these better teams in the playoffs.  The Jazz are a stronger team when they are not missing 6’7 SF Bojan Bogdanovic… which they are now.  Bojan can pass and shoot with the best of them and that is exactly what this team misses at the moment.  The Jazz also have a great point guard in Mike Conley… the #4 overall pick in the 2007 draft, Mike has had a hell of a career.  He hasn’t won a ring… and his 13.4 points and 5.3 assists per game will tell you that his best days are far behind him.  In the next draft Mike Conley will be the guy that gets replaced.  Because I love purely good basketball I’d love to see Mike stick around at a smaller salary to break in the new guy… that won’t happen as long as there are desperate teams out there.  

The Charlotte Hornets have won 7 of their last ten games. They went 6-4 ATS during that stretch.  We can project all day long about how the Hornets have great young players.. And an assortment of quality vets… and the injury list is not that deep… but they have no big man!  Anytime the Hornets play a team with a quality big man (Utah is top 3-6) the Hornets must send C Mason Plumlee out on to the floor.  Backing up Mason is Nick Richards and the undersized Montrezl Harrell.  Mason is terrible, barely belongs in the G-League.  Nick is a 2nd round pick that is out of his element… and Montrezl Harrell is a former 6th man of the year that has burned 3 BRIDGES in the last 3 seasons.  No one wants to work with Montrezl because he doesn’t know how off-putting he is.  If Montrezl had stayed at the Clippers for less money he would be in line for a big contract right now… but since he didn’t… he may not stay in the league when this contract expires… Really no one likes working with this guy.  Hornets star PG LaMelo Ball has yet to learn how ti win games outright.. When he does.. And when they have a Center… This will be a much better team.  

Al McMordie was 0-2 in the NBA last night, so he looks to rebound on Thursday. Here, pick up Big Al's Top 3 NBA Winners, including plays out of 276-214, 80-46 and 24-13 ATS angles. Get on board right now, and get your broom ready for a 3-0 SWEEP! What are you waiting for? Get Big Al’s' picks!   You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

Utah is 45-28 on the season, but 31-39-3 ATS.  They have logged 33 Overs, 38 Unders, and 2 Push.  They are 19-17 on the road.

The Charlotte Hornets are 37-36 on the season, but 39-32-1 ATS.  They have notched 36 Overs, 36 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 19-18 in home games.

The Jazz are 6th in scoring with 113.7 ppg, 3rd in rebounds with 46.3 per game, and 29th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6. On defense they are ranked 10th while holding opponents to 107.6 ppg.

The Charlotte Hornets are 5th in scoring with 114.8 ppg, 12th in rebounds with 44.8 per game, and 3rd in AST/TO ratio with 2.1. Those are all great numbers until you look at defense.  On defense they rank 28th while allowing 114.6 ppg from opponents.  

Our prediction for Friday, March 25th is…. Jazz 118 - Hornets 114

The Hornets will play the Jazz close but fall short.  The Jazz have a much better front line.  The grinding will be too much for LaMelo and Mile to cover up.  However we will have to look at the spread closely to see if this is a cover.

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month. And if you enjoyed this Jazz/Hornets Preview, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Utah is 19-14 ATS versus Charlotte since 1996.
Utah is only 1-14 ATS after trailing in the previous game by 15 points or more at the half time.
New York is 14-8 ATS while revenging a same season loss vs any opponent.

Hornets: SG James Booknight (neck) Out ** SF Gordon Hayward (ankle) Out

Jazz: SF Bojan Bogdanovic (calf) Out ** C Udoka Azubuike (ankle) Out

Utah: PF Eric Pachall, SF Royce O’Neale, C Rudy Gobert, PG Mike Conleyl, SG Donovan Mitchell

Hornets: Sf Mile Bridges, PF PJ Washington, C Mason Plumlee, PG LaMelo Ball, SG Terry Rozier

Jazz: Quin Snyder

Hornets: James Borrego