NBA Thanksgiving Matchup - Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz

Chicago Bulls at Utah Jazz
Thursday, November 26th – 10:30 PM ET
Basketball Betting Spread: Jazz -7.5
   
The Week That Was: Bulls 

Chicago’s long road swing through the West just got a lot longer over the past week. Vinny Del Negro’s club suffered three lopsided defeats in a parade of unending basketball misery. The scores were similar, and the themes were the same, for team that got Bull-rushed in the Pacific and Mountain time zones. 

On Nov. 19, Chicago dropped a 108-93 decision to the Los Angeles Lakers. On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Bulls were blitzed at Denver by a 112-93 count. This past Monday, Nov. 23, the outlook didn’t improve at all, as a slumping defensive team lost at Portland, 122-98. It’s hard to find any silver lining for Del Negro’s roster, which was mediocre on offense but horrible at the defensive end of the floor.

Just how much “matador defense” have the Bulls played in the past week? In each of these three losses, Chicago allowed an opponent to shoot at least 46 percent from the floor (Portland shot a whopping 58 percent on Monday). Just as bad is the fact that the Bulls gave up a minimum of 22 free throw attempts in their toothless defensive performances. 

The Week That Was: Jazz 

Utah began the past week with a pair of gritty performances, but ended its seven-day stretch with a stinker. 

The Jazz won for the first time ever at San Antonio’s new arena, the AT&T Center, last Thursday. A 90-83 win was built on the back of 20 points from forward Paul Millsap, combined with 10 assists from star point guard Deron Williams. The Jazz then returned home on Saturday, Nov. 21, to fight past Detroit in overtime, 100-97. A crucial component in the three-point win over the Pistons was Utah’s ability to get to the foul line. The Jazz attempted 19 more foul shots than Detroit (44 to 25) in a closely-contested game.  

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Jazz lost their edge on Tuesday, falling at home to Oklahoma City by a score of 104-94. Boozer scored 22 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, but the Jazz simply – and literally – threw this game away. A total of 24 Utah turnovers gave the Thunder stacks of easy baskets, and on a night when Williams was held to just 10 points, the Jazz didn’t have the scoring punch to compensate for their many mistakes.
 
Outlook & Pick 

The Jazz thrive when their halfcourt offense is humming, but are vulnerable against strong defensive teams, as their loss to Oklahoma City so clearly showed. The Bulls, however, are playing incredibly poor defense right now. Chicago might rally after a series of terrible performances, but it’s hard for a team to immediately and abruptly change its identity.

The Jazz are in the midst of a six-game homestand, and it would be hard to imagine Jerry Sloan’s team losing two straight games to beatable teams at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. 

Pick: Jazz -7.5