NBA: Charlotte Hornets VS Utah Jazz Pick and Predictions 01/23/2023

Game: 9:10 PM ET,  Monday, January 23rd, 2023

Venue: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV:  NBA League Pass

Hornets: 13-34, 14 place Eastern Conference

Jazz: 24-25, 9th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  (will update)

PointsBet: Point Spread: 

Fanduel: Point Spread: 

Hornets: PF Jalen McDaniels, SF PJ Washington, C Mason Plumlee, SG Terry Rozier, PG Gordon Hayward

Jazz: PF Malik Beasley, SF Lauri Markkanen, C Walker Kessler, SG Jordan Clarkson, PG Mike Conley

An inter conference NBA mismatch even though neither team is a contender.  How come they aren’t close to even.. Because the Charlotte Hornets are a unique level of awful for the East while the Utah Jazz are a unique level of a team on the rise (in the generational sense) in the West.  The Charlotte Hornets have brought tanking to a new level… not only are they losing games… They also have a fully terrible NBA roster… so they might be one of the “tanking” teams that have ZERO ability to start different players and maybe win a few more games.  The Hornets are starting the players they have… and those players are awful.  The Hornets big problem started in the offseason when PF/SF Miles Bridges, who happened to be the team’s leading scorer and a rising star in the NBA, got arrested for felony domestic violence… not only ending this season… BUT probably ending his NBA career.  At this time last season the Hornets only needed to find a big man to pair with Bridges and Ball… and they would have been off and running.  They didn’t find that big man.. They lost Bridges forever maybe, and Ball has been injured most of this season.  It’s the moves we do not make that haunt us.  The Utah Jazz started a major rebuild this last offseason when they traded SG Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for multiple players and picks and then traded C Rudy Gobert for players and Many Many picks!  This was supposed to be a very down year… Instead the group of new young Jazz players led by SF Lauri Markkenen started the season great and raced to 1st place in the West!… PG/SG Collin Sexton from the Cavs also proved to be a surprise gift, rookie Center Walker Kessler who was the 20th pick in the draft looks like a future starter… but then reality set in … They are young.. They are vulnerable to the inevitable injury absences… and they have some older Vets that need a new home in order to stay focused on the present.  So they plummeted.  Now they aren;t a first place team and they are no longer in the top-eight teams in the West… but they have shown an ability to win… and they have a Closet Full of future draft picks to make moves and grow. They aren’t seriously in the race for C Victor Wembanyama.. But they have one of the brightest futures in the NBA (based on if they hit on 50% of the coming draft picks).

The Charlotte Hornets have only won 3 of their last 10 games but are on a surprising 2-game winning streak (they played the Rockets and the Hawks.. Not exactly murderers row).  They won their last game against the Atlanta hawks 122-118.. While getting 34 points from SG Terry Rozier who is the NBA’s most overlooked scorer and deserves to be traded to a good team.  They also got 25 points from C Mason Plumlee, a mark he will not hit twice.  And 23 points form SF PJ Washington.  Once again PF Jalen McDaniels had a down game with only 7 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists.  Jalen is indicative of what is wrong with this team… They keep waiting for this 4th year 2nd round draft pick to ascend to something he might not ever be able to achieve.  He has had big games like 26 points against the Celtics in a 130-118 loss… but he actually averages 11, 5, and 2 in his best season yet… and the numbers have only been going up because the minutes have gone up.  What are they waiting for?

The Utah Jazz have won 5 of their last 10 games.. While going 6-4 ATS.  They lost their last game against the Brooklyn Nets which is actually hard for any team to do right now.  In the loss the Jazz were missing PF Kelly Olynyk… who may be out for the rest of the season after an ankle injury. They got 22 points, 11 rebounds from SF Lauri Markkanen, 29 points , 5 assists from SG Jordan Clarkson… but rookie Center Walker Kessler with 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block.  The small game from Walker put too much strain on the team and the Jazz lost.  That is what happens with rookies… even if a guy is 7’2 and normally pretty good… they can find themselves lost in a tough matchup.

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CHA: 13-34, 20-24-3 ATS, 25-21-1 O/U, 8-18 on the road.

UTA: 24-25, 27-22 ATS, 27-22 O/U, 15-9 in home games/

The Hornets are 21st in scoring with 112.6 points per game, 5th in rebounds with 45 per game, 7th in AST/TO ratio 1.9, and 13th in blocked shots with 4.9 per game.

The Jazz are 6th in scoring with 117.5 points per game, 9th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, 22nd in AST/TO ratio with 1.7, and 14th in blocked shots per game with 4.8.

Our prediction for Monday, January 23rd is…. Jazz 127 - Hornets 106

Blow out alert.  Bet on the Jazz ATS.  Rookie Center Walker Kessler is coming of one of his worst games as a pro and is about to face a team that has no actual center…. He will bounce back big.  Plus the Hornets are terrible on the road… The Jazz are great at home… etc etc times a thousand little stats.

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Hornets: SG Terry Rozier.  Terry is consistently the only good thing the Hornets have. Watch and marvel at this little guy score consistently.

Jazz: C Walker Kessler.  Walker is much better than the stats in his last game.  He is the big man of the future for the Jazz.  With him and Lauri Markkanen in place… and the promise of PG Colin Sexton returning to form since his return from injury. The young guys are starting to make SG Jordan Clarkson and PG Mike Conley look more and more like trade pieces.  They better do it quickly too… Cause what team needs more guards? Except the Lakers?

Hornets: Steve “this is where witness protection puts some guys” Clifford

Jazz: Will “The Mormons hired me” Hardy