Oklahoma City Thunder vs Utah Jazz

With visions of drafting Cooper Flagg dancing in their heads, the Jazz are pulling out all the stops to rack up losses. They were on a roll with nine straight defeats until they ran into a Portland team missing four starters on Wednesday. Utah pulled off an overtime win there and could be in decent shape to compete again tonight.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder have locked up the NBA’s top spot and home-court edge for the playoffs. With nothing left to prove, they’ve conveniently sidelined all five starters plus key reserves Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace for tonight, citing “injuries.”

OKC’s depth is impressive, and they’ve held their own without starters in recent weeks. Still, sitting your top seven players is bound to take a toll, and giving up 9.5 points on the road feels like a stretch.

Utah’s been leaning on young, hungry players on the fringes of the roster. The front office might be rooting for losses, but these first- and second-year guys are scrapping for minutes and future deals, so expect them to bring some fire.

Betting on these late-season, low-stakes games is always a wild card. That’s why the Jazz at +350 on the moneyline look like an intriguing option.

Both of these teams play at a quick pace, with Oklahoma City ranking fifth in the league and Utah sixth. They'll also probably be slack on defense because this game isn't important.

Keep in mind that OKC's traditionally staunch defense has given up 120 or more points in three of the past four games, while the Jazz have the league's worst defense, allowing 121.0 points per game. The Over is also 6-1 in the last seven encounters between these division rivals.

Johnny Juzang is one of several young Jazz players whose playing time has increased down the stretch. He has played 33 or more minutes in three consecutive games and scored in double figures in nine of his previous ten appearances.