DAVID MALINSKY
4* OKLAHOMA CITY over UTAH
Utah is a mess right now, but the fact that the Jazz still sport a winning record for the full season, and are seemingly in playoff contention, keeps the markets from dealing with them properly. The slide started even with Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams on board, with a 2-11 ATS tally on the road vs. losing teams since December 1st, but the current trending is showing that things may get even worse – in a 1-4 ATS run since the All Star break in that category with this new group in place, they have lost to the spread by 35 points, showing how far off the markets are. So far in March they have allowed 113 points per game in six road tries, on 50 percent shooting. Ordinarily a team struggling this badly would get a break – the opposition could take them lightly, with their focus on tougher challenges ahead. But not this time.
We will see the “A” game from Oklahoma City tonight. The Thunder have had several days to stew off of the embarrassment of losing on this court to Toronto, which creates a spark, and there is absolutely no look-ahead to Minnesota on Friday. So instead of coasting, the mindset will be to come out and attack with passion. That is nothing new for a team that is 17-5 off of a loss this season, with only San Antonio faring better, and since Christmas they are 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS at home following a defeat, covering the spread by 48 points over those five games. From Scott Brooks - “They look at losses as a missed opportunity and they go into the next game with the mentality to make up for that loss. That's a great mindset to have.” And Eric Maynor - “We got a lot of competitors on our team and everybody wants to win. That's the main thing. We come in here and push each other and then go out there and take it out on somebody else. I think we came in here (Tuesday) and showed we're ready to get back out there and get back to work and get back in the win column.”
The Thunder had won five straight games in double figures prior to the Toronto upset. Now in the first game off of a loss with Kendrick Perkins on board the focus on quickly getting back on track is even more pronounced, and they can blow out a Utah team that may not fight all that hard from behind, with a better chance to win at home vs. New Orleans tomorrow (we might even see Devin Harris held out here, taking another day to heal before that game).