The Utah Jazz (11-18) visit Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night having split their last 10 games but with a putrid 3-13 mark on the road. They may be a welcome sight for a Raptors (11-17) team that has won only three of their last 12 games.
Bet on Jazz vs. Raptors
UTA +5.5
TOR -5.5
Jazz vs. Raptors odds
| Jazz Moneyline Odds | +180 |
| Raptors Moneyline Odds | -220 |
| Over/Under | 231.0 points (over -110, under -110) |
| Spread | Raptors -5.5 (-110) |
| Time/Date | Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: Sportsnet Stream: NBA League Pass (How to watch the NBA in Canada?) |
All odds courtesy of 
About the Jazz (11-18 SU, 14-14-1 ATS, 16-12-1 o/u)
The Jazz will have an extra day to rest compared to the Raptors who’ll be on the second leg of a back-to-back having visited Philadelphia on Friday night. The Jazz dispatched the hapless Pistons on Thursday 119-111, handing Detroit its 25th straight loss, one shy of the single-season NBA record.
Utah was led by Kelly Olynyk’s 25 points while Collin Sexton added 19. 18 more points came from second-year man Ochai Agbaji. It should be noted that Utah, on the second leg of its own back-to-back, was without the services of Jordan Clarkson, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Talen Horton-Tucker. That’s four of their top six scorers this season. For the Raptors game, expect Clarkson to be out, George to be a game-time decision and Horton-Tucker and Markkanen to likely play.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams this year. Last year, the Jazz swept the two-game season series. Utah has been struggling this season, in the bottom fourth of the Western Conference with rumors swirling recently that both Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson are available for a trade. The Jazz were not expected to contend this year and there may come a time soon when they decide to go all-in on tank mode. Coming into this weekend, they rank 21st in points per game at 112.6 and 24th in points allowed per game at 119.4. The Jazz are also fourth in the league in rebounds per game (first in offensive rebounds) but give up the eight most rebounds per game to their opponents. So expect a lot of boards in this clash on Saturday night.
About the Raptors (11-17 SU, 12-15-1 ATS, 14-14 o/u)
The Toronto Raptors have struggled as of late, falling to 12th place in the Eastern Conference and last place in the Atlantic Division. They are still a young team with a lot of potential but will need to turn things around at some point if they want to make the playoffs this year.
Scottie Barnes, the 2021-22 Rookie of the Year has taken a leap in his third season. Entering this weekend’s games, the 6’7” wing was averaging 20.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game while shooting a career-high .381 from deep. He’s also adding 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game to be a complete menace on both sides of the court. He may soon surpass former All-NBAer and teammate Pascal Siakam as the best player on this Raptors squad. Some say he already has.
After those two, the Raptors’ supporting cast is led by perennial glue guy O.G. Anunoby, himself a purported trade candidate, off-season acquisition Dennis Schroder, Gary Trent Jr., and Jakob Poeltl. Like the Jazz, the Raptors will soon have some very important decisions to make. Do they acquire assets by trading Anunoby for a veteran star to make a run with this core group or do they consider a rebuild to build a team around Barnes? It’s the same conundrum many teams at a crossroads are facing. One thing is for sure, however. As long as Scottie Barnes continues to play like this, Toronto fans hope to see him in a Raptors jersey for a long time to come.
The Raptors’ strength as a team this year centers around their fast-break prowess and unselfish style of play. They were third in the league in both fastbreak points (16.8) and assists (28.9) per game before this weekend’s action. They struggle to shoot the ball from long range and at the free-throw line. These areas are where the team must improve if they want to turn around their early-season slump and make real progress toward true playoff contention.
Scottie Barnes over 8.5 rebounds
-110
Injury Concerns
- Utah’s Jordan Clarkson (hamstring) won’t play.
- Utah’s Keyonte George (foot) is questionable.
- Toronto’s Christian Koloko (illness) won’t play.
Betting Trends
- The Raptors have hit the Under in 56.3% of their home games this season.
- The Raptors are 2-2 both against the spread and with the total points over in games with no rest.
- Utah is 4-6 against the spread coming off a win, losing by an average margin of 9.4 points.
- Utah is last in the league against the spread as the Away team at 4-11-1 losing by an average of 14.7 points.
Player Prop Trends
- Lauri Markkanen on the road is averaging 22.5 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game, both slightly below his season average, but making 3.4 threes per game which is slightly above.
- Scottie Barnes is averaging 22.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists so far in December. Collin Sexton has scored over 25 points in four of his last six games
- Pascal Siakam has grabbed six or more rebounds in just two of his last 11 games.
Wagers to Consider
- SGP – Spread: Raptors -4.5 and Barnes to grab over 8.5 rebounds: +200. The Jazz record on the road is awful and their average loss there is by nearly 15 points. Add to this the number of rebounds expected in this game and Barnes, who is averaging nearly 10 rebounds a game this month, should hit the over.
- Under 230 total points: -110. As mentioned, the Jazz struggle on the road and Toronto is on a back-to-back so there’s a pretty good chance neither team hits their average points per game which for both is right about 112.
