Jazz vs Lakers Odds and Predictions

• The Utah Jazz travel to face the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30pm ET on Monday, Jan. 17th 
• The Jazz enter the game at 29-14 overall, while the Lakers come in at 21-22 on the year
• See below for the latest odds, analysis and the best bet

A battle between two Western Conference playoff teams will round out action in the NBA on Monday, Jan. 17th when the Utah Jazz visit the Los Angeles Lakers at 10:30pm ET in Los Angeles.

Utah enters the game at 29-14 on the year and is 5-5 in its last 10 games, tied for the third seed in the West. The Jazz are coming off of a 125-102 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Denver.

Los Angeles comes into the contest at 21-22 overall and is 5-5 in its last 10 games, sitting as the top seed of the play-in tournament squads in seventh place in the conference. The Lakers most recently were blown out by the Nuggets 133-96 on Saturday in Denver.

Going into the game, the Jazz are listed as 4.5-point favorites over the Lakers.

Jazz vs Lakers Odds

Odds as of Jan. 17th from FanDuel

Can Jazz Battle Through Back-to-Back?

Utah had struggled leading into Sunday’s contest against Denver, but bounced back with a nice 23-point victory to snap a four-game losing streak. Now, the Jazz will have the task of playing in yet another back-to-back on the road in Los Angeles on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Jazz are 3-4 on the second night of a back-to-backs, and their top-ranked offense has taken a bit of a hit in those seven games. Utah, averaging a league-best 115.1 points per game, is averaging 112 points in the second night of a back-to-back. That is noticeably lower than its 113.5 points per game on one night rest, 128 points on two nights rest and 122.5 on three-plus nights rest.

"Let's go tomorrow."#TakeNote

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 17, 2022

The biggest key for the Jazz has been being able to get things going offensively, as they hold the best offense in the NBA this season. Utah is shooting a league-leading 47.6 percent, 36.8 percent from three and has averaged a NBA-best 15 threes a game. The Jazz also get to the free throw line 22.8 times a game (second-most in NBA), making 17.6 free throws per contest (tied for second in NBA).

The good news for Utah is it will square off against a Lakers team which has struggled defensively lately and has the 19th-ranked defensive rating in the league (110.3).

Lakers Coming Off Bad Loss, Riding Losing Streak

After winning four in a row at the beginning of January, Los Angeles has hit a snag as of late and are coming off of a blowout loss in Denver on Saturday where it trailed by as much as 46 points and ended up losing by 37, the largest loss ever against Denver.

Final. pic.twitter.com/q4DAeKtr5L

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 16, 2022

Los Angeles has lost three straight, giving up an average of 128.3 points while countering with 110.3 points over that span, and will need to fix things quickly to not slip even more in the conference standings.

It hasn’t helped that the Lakers have been shorthanded as of late, with Carmelo Anthony (back) missing the last three games and Anthony Davis still out since going down with a knee injury in mid-December. To pile onto that, Kendrick Nunn (knee) will be out again on Monday, while LeBron James (abdomen) and Dwight Howard (knee) are banged up but listed as probable.

James will likely be good to go against Utah, but the fact that he is still not 100 percent is another concern for the Lakers. James and Russell Westbrook will have to put together solid performances if Los Angeles wants to bounce back against a talented Jazz squad.

Prediction and Best Bet

Although both teams haven’t played their best basketball as of late, this should still be an entertaining and high-scoring contest between top-five offensive teams in the league. With that said, the Jazz should be able to come into Los Angeles and take down the Lakers in the conference showdown.

For the best bet of the night, go with the over of 232.5 points. That number appears to be high, but Los Angeles ranks fifth in the NBA and Utah is the top scoring team in the league, and both the Lakers (25-18) and Jazz (23-19-1) have good records in hitting the over this season.

• The Pick: Over 232.5 (-110)