The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Wednesday as the Utah Jazz travel to the Lone Star State to take on the San Antonio Spurs in game 2 of their best of 7 series. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start time and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have the Spurs favored by 11.5 points with the total sitting at 204 points for the contest.
Free Analysis: The Utah Jazz need a win here to avoid going down two games to the red hot Spurs, even though it's still a long series. The Jazz, like the Spurs are capable of putting points on the board in bunches as the Jazz are scoring an average of 99.7 points per game on the year, the problem is that Utah just can't seem to stop anyone as the Jazz are allowing an average of 99 points per game defensively.in the Game 1 loss Utah was led by its big-man tandem of C Al Jefferson and PF Paul Millsap in Game 1. Jefferson finished with 16 points (8-of-16 FG), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Millsap scored a team-high 20 points (8-of-14 FG) with nine rebounds and three blocks. Despite their efforts, the Jazz were still outscored 58-44 in the paint. The backcourt did not play well at all. PG Devin Harris made just 3-of-9 FG to finish with seven points, two assists and five turnovers. SG Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, but made only two field goals (12-for-12 FT) with two assists. PG Jamaal Tinsley provided a spark off the bench with nine points and five assists in 20 minutes. After finishing the month of April with 11 straight wins (10-0-1 ATS), the Spurs look to start out the month of May on Wednesday with another victory over the Jazz in their first-round playoff series. The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the better teams in the league all season long, and a major reason for that is their dynamic offense. San Antonio has the second ranked scoring offense in the league, putting up better than 103 points per game this season. PG Tony Parker had a huge Game 1 performance with game highs in points (28) and assists (eight). He also grabbed four rebounds and had just two turnovers. C Tim Duncan also thrived in the series opener with 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, while SG Manu Ginobili had a poor shooting night (3-10) and scored just 7 points. The San Antonio bench all played well (37 points on 13-of-28 FG), led by SG Stephen Jackson’s 14 points and four rebounds. The Spurs have now won 19 of their 34 home games by at least 12 points, including the past five and they continue to have Utah’s number, going 30-6 (23-10 ATS) at home against them since 1996. In the past two seasons, San Antonio has won seven of the eight overall meetings with the Jazz (5-2-1 ATS).
Free Pick: This game really looks easy as the Spurs have been the best team in the league for much of the second half of the year. The Spurs won Game 1 by 15 and in watching the game it didn't really feel like it was that close. The Spurs have now outscored their opponents by 12 ppg at home, including by an average of 19 ppg in their last 6 at home. The Spurs have been scoring a ton lately as they have averaged 113.9 ppg in their last 11 games overall and 112.8 ppg in their last 6 at home, while they have allowed just 92.3 ppg at home on the year. Utah didn't have enough offense or defense in game 1 and they certainly won't in game 2 either. The favorite is 19-6-1 ATS the last 26, while the Host is 20-8-1 ATS the last 29. Spurs by at least 15 again in this one.
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