Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Predictions, Starting Lineups (12/20/23)
Two injury-riddled teams try to add another victory to the win column despite being shorthanded as the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavaliers face off in a non-conference matchup. Check out our Utah Jazz vs. Cleveland Cavaliers predictions, best bets, betting odds, and in-depth analysis below.
Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction
It is another iteration of a revenge game for Donovan Mitchell as the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Utah Jazz for a non-conference bout on Wednesday night. However, Mitchell is listed as questionable for this matchup, and the Cavs will already be without Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Ty Jerome, and Evan Mobley. Let’s go through the various situations and cover the best bets for this game.
If Mitchell plays, then Cleveland gets a lean from us in this spot. The Cavaliers have won three consecutive games at home and boast a net rating of +7.6, with an exceptional offensive rating of 127.2; they had a team shooting split of 50/40/72 in that span. Simply put, the Cavs have more talent than Utah, even with Garland and Mobley sidelined, as Mitchell, Strus, and LeVert can fill it up.
Further, Utah’s road record is a morbid 2-12, which is the second-worst winning percentage of any team in the league, behind only Detroit. The Jazz’s road net rating of -17.1 is inexplicably poor. While Garland’s loss is a huge deal to Cleveland, it has still won four consecutive games without him on the floor. Ultimately, as long as Mitchell plays, the Cavs are the play.
However, if Mitchell does not play, then we are staying away from the popular bets entirely. There are too many things that can happen when both teams are down multiple significant players. Still, we will look to put a Caris LeVert player prop in our slip.
Targeting LeVert to go over his point total makes a lot of sense if Mitchell is out in this game; he will be the de facto primary option in this Cavs offense since Garland and Mobley will also be out. As a scorer, LeVert is more than capable; he has averaged over 15 points per game this season while coming off the bench.
Regardless, the primary reason that we will be backing LeVert’s Overs has to do more with the Jazz defense than with him. As alluded to above, they have a road net rating of -17.1, which includes a defensive rating of 125.6. It is difficult to define how poor that is for an NBA team qualitatively, but you might just have to take our word for it.
Someone has to score for Cleveland, and it will more than likely be the only guy on the floor who is capable of consistently creating his own shot.
Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction: Cavaliers -3.5 OR LeVert Over Points (W/O Mitchell)
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Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Best Odds
Cleveland is a five-point home favorite to hand the Utah Jazz their 18th loss of the season. Utah has +164 Moneyline odds to win outright on the road, while the Cavs have odds of -198 to secure a much-needed win at home. The sportsbooks expect a relatively high-scoring affair, as the point total hangs around 227 points, with close to even odds on both the Over and the Under.
Utah Jazz Starting Lineup
PG: Collin Sexton
SG: Talen Horton-Tucker
SF: Simone Fontecchio
PF: Lauri Markkanen
C: Walker Kessler
Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Lineup
PG: Caris LeVert
SG: Max Strus
SF: Isaac Okoro
PF: Dean Wade
C: Jarrett Allen
Utah Jazz Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Injuries
Cleveland has unfortunately suffered several injuries to key players, including Evan Mobley (knee) and Darius Garland (jaw), who will both miss this game. Ty Jerome (ankle) and Ricky Rubio (personal) are also out, while Donovan Mitchell (illness) is a game-time decision for tonight’s game against Utah.
The Jazz have run into the injury bug a bit, too, with Jordan Clarkson (bicep), Keyonte George (foot), and Omer Yurtseven (illness) all expected to be sidelined for this bout.
