Wednesday, January 26

Game Night: Welcome to Mormonville

Looks like the prediction-o-meter is back on track after last night's win in LA (Ed. Note: one win does not exactly make you Jimmy the Greek).

As noted on this fine blog, the Jazz have proven to be rather inept at drawing calls, something Danny Fortson knows a little something about. In the previous meeting a few days ago between these clubs, the Sonics were whistled for 32 fouls, while the Jazz were tabbed for 38, the highest cumulative total for a Sonic game this season. The Sonics wound up with 10 more foul shots than the Jazz, and ran away with the victory.

The Jazz are a turnover-prone offense, especially when it comes to bad passes. Thus far, Utah has thrown it away 287 times to their opponents 183, while the Sonics are at 187-245. That's a bad sign for Jazz fans, and a great sign for those of us who still aren't sure about that Joseph Smith guy.

I've wavered in both directions with this game, which is probably why the oddsmakers have put it as a pick 'em. On the pro side, the Sonics are statistically better than Utah, are coming off a nice win in LA, and they haven't lost in 3 tries against Utah this season. However, the Jazz have won a couple of nice ones lately, the Sonics are on the second of a back-to-back, and the law of averages is on Utah's side. On the other hand ...

Good Sign: AK-47 is not at 100%.
Bad Sign: AK-47 will still be playing, and at 85% he's better than most players in the league, anyway. Plus, the Jazz have knocked off the Suns and Spurs in SLC in the past two weeks.

Vegas line: Pick 'em
Prediction: Jazz 102 - Sonics 98
Record Against the Spread: 13-7

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