Pwnage Pick of the Day 3/24

Monthly PPOTD Record: 1-1
Last Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins Win

Denver Nuggets (26-21) at Utah Jazz (25-22)
Line: Utah by 1.5

The Utah Jazz are a pretty formidable home team this year with an 18-6 record at the Energy Solutions Arena. They have won 6 straight home games beating some good teams during this stretch including Oklahoma City (97-90, Mar. 20th) and Miami (99-98, Mar. 2nd). Overall, they have won 5 straight games. The last time they played was last night in Sacramento where they won 103-102. Their last home game was against Oklahoma City which they won 97-90 on Tuesday Night. There is a small concern with playing the second game of a back-to-back after flying in the night before, but I don't think that it will prove to be an issue.

The Jazz have a few injuries right now, but it hasn't stopped them from winning lately. Raja Bell who averages around 20 min a game and 6 points a game is day-to-day, and so is Earl Watson who also averages around 20 min a game, but with only 3 points per game. Josh Howard is out for the season for the Jazz, but it didn't stop them from winning their last two games. He averages around 23 min and 9 points per game.

The Denver Nuggets have not played a road game since Mar. 4th when they beat San Antonio 99-94. The Nuggets are a very solid road team with a 11-9 record, but only 2-4 in their last 6 road games. Overall, the Nuggets have gone W,L,W,L,W,L,W,L their last 8 games, with their last game, against Detroit on Wednesday Night, being a 116-115 win. Maybe they are due for a loss...

The Nuggets have a few injuries of their own. Rudy Fernandez is out for the year, he provided an average of around 23 min and 9 points a game. Also, Andre Miller is day-to-day, he added 28 min a game and 10 points with 7 rebounds this season on average.

The Nuggets and the Jazz have played twice this season. Both of the games played were in Denver with each team winning one game. On December 28th, the Nuggets beat the Jazz 117-100. On Jan 15th, the Jazz avenged their earlier loss with a 106-96 victory in Denver.

Conclusion: Even though the Denver Nuggets are a good road team, I really like Utah's dominance lately at home. If Utah can recover from a late night flight, and show up tonight, they should be able to beat the Nuggets to win the season series, and net green for us all!

Pick: Utah Jazz
Confidence: W5 or less

Please Comment and Good Luck!