- The Utah Jazz opened their series against the Memphis Grizzlies as -1400 favorites.
- After splitting the first two games, they’re -700 series favorites.
- The Jazz had the best net rating in the NBA, while the Grizzlies were 15th.
LAS VEGAS - The Utah Jazz roared back into their first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies in dominant fashion.
The Jazz started the game out hot and never let off the gas pedal, en route to a 141-129 victory.
Not exactly the expected style of victory, given the defensive prowess of the Jazz, but they’ll certainly take it.
Ja Morant attempts to summit Mt. Gobert pic.twitter.com/nyCKnDKiXO
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) May 27, 2021
With the series now tied at 1-1, and the Jazz having given up home court advantage to the Grizzlies, the Jazz are still significant moneyline favorites to win the series.
Utah Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies Series Odds
- Utah Jazz -700
- Memphis Grizzlies +450
This is a marked decrease in odds from before the series started, however, when the Jazz were hovering in the -1400 range on the online sportsbooks.
Giving up that Game 1 loss really cost them in terms of odds, and could provide a rewarding play for bettors, in that -700 odds on the best team in the NBA beating the 15th best team in the NBA seem pretty good.
The Jazz winning this series might feel like a foregone conclusion based on the underlying statistics - they had the best net rating in the league, and were the only team that was top five in both offensive and defensive rating.
The Grizzlies were almost exactly average in all respects, but they’re coming into this series with nothing to lose, and they showed it in Game 1.
The fact is, however, that the Jazz remain a better team, and getting -700 on a team that is that much better than their opponents should be a solid play.
Utah Jazz vs. Memphis Grizzlies Game 3 Moneyline Odds
- Utah Jazz -210
- Memphis Grizzlies +175
In Game 3, the Jazz are -210 favorites on the road in Memphis, which speaks to just how much better than the Grizzlies they have been all season.
If the Grizzlies are to win, they’ll need a monstrous performance from Ja Morant, who put up 26 points in Game 1 and 47 points in Game 2.
They’ll also likely need more than that, but that’s to be expected when looking to upset the best team in the NBA.
The Jazz seem like a safe bet for those wishing to wager on the NBA both game to game and in the series as a whole.