The Jazz and Denver Nuggets have always presented a unique handicapping challenge with their height in home games.
Adding that component to the long 82-game season means Utah and Denver sometimes catch opponents in rare situations that the betting market can’t quite control.
The Jazz host the Detroit Pistons on Friday as 9-point underdogs with a total of 243 points.
Utah is a decidedly different team at home. Utah ranks eighth in offensive efficiency at home but third-worst on the road. The logical explanation for this is that their opponents are struggling with defense at height.
The results reflect that too. The Jazz are 7-10 at home, compared to 3-9 on the road.
The point spread often serves as a benchmark for expectation, and the Jazz outperform the betting market in home games. They are 11-6 against the spread (ATS) at home and just 4-8 ATS away.
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That has also translated into 12 of their 17 home games going above the betting total.
Utah’s defensive efficiency isn’t much different, with a rating of 121.7 at home and 121.3 on the road. They are among the NBA’s worst in both categories.
Detroit is among the league’s top teams with a 24-6 record, and the Pistons are also among the best in both offensive and defensive efficiency. However, I firmly believe that the altitude distorts everything, and that is made worse by Utah’s performance in Salt Lake City.
I have an ATS record of 84-73-2 in this Post Sports section and my next game is over 243 points.
Why trust New York Post betting
Doug Kezirian is a contributor to the New York Post and has more than twenty years of experience in the gambling industry, including eleven years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He is also the rare personality who has documented success: a 14th-place finish in the 2023 Circa Million and the Las Vegas SuperContest ($37,000), two top-10 finishes in the 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58,000) and also made headlines with a $297,000 win at the 2021 NFL Draft.
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