Sports betting odds list the Denver Nuggets as favorites against the Utah Jazz and the odds are going higher. The Jazz were blown out in Game 1 of their series against Denver in sportsbetting and in the process lost center Mehmet Okur for the rest of the playoffs.
Sports betting listed Denver as the favorite in Game 2 on Monday and in the best-of-seven series. The Jazz collapsed at the end of the season to lose home court advantage and now it looks like their chances of beating Denver are slim. They already were without Andrei Kirilenko for this series and now they lose Okur. The injury to Okur occurred in Saturday’s loss at Denver when he slipped and ruptured his left Achilles’ tendon. He will miss the rest of the playoffs and might even miss the start of next season due to the injury. A similar injury to Elton Brand kept him out for eight months. That type of timetable would mean Okur would not be back until at least December of next season.
The loss of Okur is not inconsequential. He averaged 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds this season. He was also an outside shooting threat that the Jazz really need in this series. It was going to be tough enough to defeat Denver in this sportsbetting series but without Kirilenko and Okur it is very unlikely. The Jazz lost 126-113 in Denver on Saturday as Carmelo Anthony had 42 points on 18-for-25 shooting. The Jazz were a better defensive team this season than in past years but they did not show it on Monday. Utah is not going to win a run and gun game at Denver. J.R. Smith had 20 points off the bench for Denver in the Game 1 win while Nene added 19 points. Deron Williams led the Jazz with 26 points and 11 assists.
History is also against the Jazz in sports betting. The team that wins the first game of an NBA Playoff series goes on to win almost 80% of the time. Now Utah is going to have to find a way to rebound the ball without Kirilenko and Okur. And even more of a pressing issue is finding someone to contain Anthony. Utah is a 7-point underdog in Game 2 and in this series the Jazz are now substantial underdogs without two of their starters.
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