Two of the NBA’s hottest teams will collide Sunday afternoon. Utah and Denver have blazed their own trails with their recent play and neither club has forgotten about last year’s playoff matchup.

Utah Jazz vs. Denver Nuggets

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Sunday, January 31, 2021 – 03:30 PM EST at Ball Arena

These Northwest Division are not only two of the hottest teams in The Association, they are intersecting at a unique point. Utah is on a monumental 11-0 SU and ATS run and closed their six-game homestand 6-0 SU & ATS. The Jazz will play four of their next five contests on the road starting today.

Denver returns home after four wins and four spread covers out of five games away from snowy Colorado and they are riding a 5-1 SU and ATS stretch of their own. The Nuggets will be home six of their next eight confrontations beginning this afternoon.

With no football this Sunday, this would have been a great game to have somewhere other then NBA-TV. Regardless, that’s where it can be viewed and betting websites like BetOnline will have NBA lines early Sunday morning on this matchup and we’ll explain why further ahead in this article.

Denver Playing Their Brand of Ball

The Nuggets (11-8, 9-10 ATS) sluggish start is all but forgotten after their 1-4 beginning of the season. Two aspects have changed since play began for the Nuggets. The most obvious is they started working harder to run down rebounds, which includes squaring off the opposing player in their area. (Hardly anyone blocks out anymore.) Denver has moved up to 9^th Average Rebound and 3^rd in Rebound Rate.

This has meant fewer possessions and put backs for opposing teams while generating more offensive chances when working and hustling for offensive boards. The other meaningful factor is the team has come together on the floor. When the year began there was a disconnect and head coach Mike Malone saw five individuals on the court playing in their own world, not as a group.

Once Malone’s crew started winning and realized what it took, with him verbally pushing that narrative, Denver players began playing for each other. One person Malone didn’t have to worry about was Nikola Jokic, who is one assist short of averaging a triple-double year to date. When the offense runs through Jokic, it runs smoother and that frees up others to play to their strengths, which helps them score and has a carryover on defense.

Utah is the Full Package

This brilliant period of Jazz basketball has pointed to just how good this team might be. Utah (15-4, 14-5 ATS) has seen players miss time with a nagging injury or two and that included leading scorer Donovan Mitchell and Derrick Favors.

When guys are missing, others take it upon themselves to step up, not selfishly, but within the team concept. Thus, Jazz fans or those making NBA picks have not had an issue backing Utah, believing Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, or Joe Ingles will do what is necessary for their team to win.

'We want to be unselfish, help each other on both ends of the floor,' Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. 'I think we're covering for each other, our communication defensively. The game can be simple if you let it be.' Synder’s club has the best record in the NBA and the numbers bear that out.

Utah enters this clash first in point differential. On offense, they are in the Top 10 in scoring, offensive efficiency, and three-point accuracy (2^nd). On the other end of the floor, Gobert and company are in the Top 6 in points allowed, field goal percentage defense, 3-point defense, and defensive efficiency. This team can do it all.

The Point Spread Winner

It is clear Utah still feels the sting of giving away a 3-1 lead in last season’s Western Conference playoffs to Denver. The Jazz earned some satisfaction from that disappointment, winning 109-105 as 1.5-point home favorites two weeks ago.

The oddsmakers at sportsbooks have to take into consideration the Jazz is 7-2 (6-3 ATS) on the road while Denver has the exact set of figures playing at altitude. What they also have to know is if Donovan and Favors are going to play (both are questionable), this pair did not Friday.

Our anticipated power ratings have Denver by one if Donovan and Favors play and the Nuggets would be a bigger favorite, especially without Mitchell, otherwise. Our inclination that a change in venues will help Denver and work against Utah and we will grab the Nuggets at home.

NBA Picks: Nuggets -1 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

Will Ben Simmons play for the Philadelphia 76ers? Has Zach LaVine revived the Chicago Bulls? Our choice for Tuesday’s NBA picks depends on the answers.

Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Friday, February 19, 2021 – 7:30 PM ET at Wells Fargo Center

They’re two of the most polarizing point guards in the NBA, so of course they’re the key figures in our NBA picks for Tuesday’s matchup between the Chicago Bulls (12-15 SU, 16-11 ATS) and the Philadelphia 76ers (19-10 SU, 14-14-1 ATS). But there’s a big difference between Chicago’s Zach LaVine and Philly’s Ben Simmons: LaVine doesn’t have the flu – at least, not that we know of. Simmons is day-to-day for the Sixers after missing Wednesday’s 118-113 win over the Houston Rockets (+8 away).

Given how valuable Simmons is to Philadelphia, we don’t expect any more NBA odds to come down the wire until more is known about his status. However, we’re very happy to put out an early recommendation on the Bulls if Simmons sits this one out. For that matter, we’ll also lean slightly towards Chicago if he does play. To the pickmobile!

Pro-Zach Nation

There’s been plenty of buzz around LaVine (plus-4.1 BPM) the past week or so, and deservedly so. His career was going off the rails after three fruitless years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a rough start with the Bulls in 2017-18. Now LaVine is playing at an All-Star level for new head coach Billy Donovan. The former UCLA Bruin is shooting better from everywhere on the court, and his playmaking and defense have improved – although there’s still work to do in both those areas.

In theory, the Bulls are counting on LaVine even more now that Lauri Markkanen (plus-0.3 BPM) is out with a sprained right shoulder. But overall, things are working out famously; they’ve gone 4-2 SU and ATS since Markkanen last played. Thaddeus Young (plus-2.1 BPM) has outperformed Markkanen this year, and there isn’t much drop-off between the young Finn and Wendell Carter (minus-1.4 BPM), who returned to the lineup on Monday. Even 2019 second-rounder Daniel Gafford (plus-0.2 BPM) has played solid big-man minutes off the bench. Crank up the Alan Parsons Project. The Bulls are back in town.

Better Stay In Your Sweaty Mucus Bed

Oh, wait, they’re in Philadelphia, so let’s crank up the Ween instead. There’s also been plenty of buzz around Simmons (plus-4.2 BPM), but it hasn’t been positive – he’s like the anti-LaVine, all defense and playmaking. That’s what the Sixers need, though. They’ve already solved their spacing issues with Seth Curry (minus-0.4 BPM) and Danny Green (minus-1.2 BPM) bombing away from downtown alongside Tobias Harris (plus-2.8 BPM). Simmons is a plus-8.6 per 100 possessions for Philly, according to the On/Off stats at Basketball Reference. He’s never been more important to their cause.

Whether Simmons is healthy enough to play Friday remains in question as we go to press, though, so we can’t say how the NBA lines will come out for this one. If he doesn’t play, we’re more interested in picking the Bulls; Joel Embiid (plus-7.9 BPM) is overshadowing just about everything else in Philly right now, and he’s got a sore back, so this should still be a good spot to fade the Sixers either way. They’ve dropped the cash in each of their last four games. Let’s see if they make it five in a row.

Predictions For Tonight's Nba Games

NBA Pick: Bulls +9.5 (-105) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

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