Can the Jazz save their season against the Warriors?

Another sweep on the horizon

All the below betting lines brought to you by Topbet. 

Utah Jazz (+8) vs. Golden State Warriors (-8) 

Well, the Utah Jazz's season over.

Correct: It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when. They have dropped the first three games to the Golden State Warriors, and no team in NBA history has ever climbed out of a 3-0 series hole. They know this, and whether they admit it or not, it will most definitely affect them.

In all likelihood, the Warriors are going to win this game. They are, by far, the better team, and they will see the value of resting five or six days while the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets finish up their slugfest of a best-of-seven series.

The question is: How much will the Warriors win by?

Each of the Warriors' first three victories have come by double-digit margins—no less than 11 points. They have let the Jazz hang around in just about every matchup, most notably Game 3 in Utah, but they always figure out a way to create distance at the end.

With their season on the line, we can expect the Jazz to put up a similar scrappy fight. George Hill might return for Game 4, but even if he doesn't the Jazz have done a fantastic job limiting the damage the Warriors do in transition. They only lost the fast-break battle by one point in Game 2 and then held Golden State to seven points in Game 3. That's a recipe to at least hang close—particularly when you have Gordon Hayward being aggressive as anyone on the offensive end.

So, yes, this very well could be the game that the Jazz make the Warriors sweat right up until the final buzzer.

Or, you know, maybe not.

The way Game 3 actually unfolded is all the evidence we need. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry combined to shoot 7-of-29 from the field, and the Warriors still won by double digits. That's the luxury of this team: If they don't have two of their best players on top of their games, there's another two stars, in Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, to pick up the slack.

And that's just what Durant did. He tallied 38 points and 13 rebounds on a scintillating 15-of-26 shooting, ultimately hitting shots near the end of the night that were impossible to defend, because they were so well defended in the first place.

In essence, Durant is the best safety net in league history. The Warriors don't have to be at their best to beat the Jazz, or even to comfortably run past them with a double-digit victory. And yet, given the scuffle Durant had with Rudy Gobert at the end of Game 3, there's a chance the Warriors bring their best, treating this like a Game 6 or Game 7 just because.

Either way, the outcome doesn't change. Bet on the Warriors. Even playing at home, the Jazz haven't given us enough incentive to pivot.

The Pick: Golden State Warriors (-8)

Category : News

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