Jazz Now -355 to Win Series vs Nuggets After Convincing Game 3 Victory

• The Utah Jazz lead their best-of-seven series with the Denver Nuggets 2-1
• Utah has won the last two games by at least 19 points
• Now a -355 favorite to win the series, read below to find out if we think the Jazz are the best bet

The Utah Jazz earned a commanding win in Game 3 of their Western Conference series with the Denver Nuggets and now hold a 2-1 series lead. They’ve now shifted up to a -355 favorite for the series but can they keep this up or will Denver get back on track? Let’s take a closer look at this series price.

Jazz vs Nuggets Series Odds

Odds as of Aug. 22, 2020.

Jazz Stomp Nuggets In Game 3

A lot of people were surprised by Friday’s scoreline when the Jazz crushed the Nuggets 124-87, the third-worst loss in Nuggets playoff history. It marked the second straight game that the Jazz ran the Nuggets off the court, as they won 124-105 on Wednesday. When you factor in Game 1, where the Jazz blew a late lead in the fourth quarter, it appears that Utah has been in the driver’s seat.

On Friday, the Jazz got Mike Conley Jr. back in the lineup and he was a big asset. Prior to the hiatus, Conley Jr. struggled to fit in with this lineup, averaging just 13.5 points per game on 36.1% shooting before the All-Star break. In the bubble, though, Conley Jr. is averaging 19.3 points per game while shooting 46.8% from the field. He continued his big contributions on Friday, hitting a career playoff-high seven three-pointers in eight attempts.

Nuggets Defense Has Been Abysmal

There are a lot of dynamics that can change in a series but here’s one thing that’s for certain: if the Nuggets can’t figure out how to improve their defense, they’re absolutely finished. On Friday, the Nuggets allowed 124 points or more to their opponent for the eighth time in nine games (124.5 points per game allowed in that span).

To put that in perspective, the Atlanta Hawks allowed the most points per game in the NBA this season and that was at 119.7; the Nuggets are nearly five points worse than that. The Nuggets allowed 109.2 on the year, so they’re almost 15 points off their pace.

The numbers are absolutely hideous. Georges Niang had 16 points in 16 minutes of action on Friday and that has to be embarrassing to the Nuggets. They’ve been roasted from the three-point line, giving up 54 three-pointers through three contests, which is the third-most in a three-game span in NBA playoff history.

Where Is The Nuggets Offense?

At one point in the season, the Nuggets had one of the best offenses in the NBA, but they have looked lost the last two games. Jamal Murray has just 26 points in the last two contests combined after scoring 36 in Game 1. Murray, Nikola Jokic and someone else have to play well for this team to win but they’re not even getting the first two.

In terms of the supporting cast, the hope was that Michael Porter Jr. could continue his stellar play in the bubble, but he had just seven points on Friday and was a -20. Will Barton and Garry Harris have not yet played in this series due to injury. Couple that with Paul Millsap struggling and inconsistent efforts from the rest of the cast and it’s hard to know who this team can rely on any given night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMxed8R0fik

At this point, it’s hard to point to any one player and say they’ve been doing particularly well in this series. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what head coach Mike Malone said after Game 3 when he said “none of us are performing”. The Nuggets’ three best players – Jokic, Murray and Porter combined for 32; the Jazz trio of Conley Jr., Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell combined for 71.

What’s The Best Bet?

I don’t love laying all of the juice on the Jazz but they’re the play here. The Nuggets have no answers at the offensive end and while I do expect them to play better there, the issue is their defense is abysmal right now. That’s not something that I think they can fix right away. The Jazz have scored at least 124 points every game.

Game 4 is last call for the Nuggets and I don’t see them getting off the mat right now. The Jazz are firing on all cylinders and while I think they were better value at the beginning of the series when they were being doubted, they’re the team I see winning this best-of-seven series.