NBA Picks: Jazz vs Heat NBA Odds – December 23, 2009: The last time the (16-12) Utah Jazz [+1] and the (13-12) Miami Heat [-1] met, both teams left it all on the court, in a triple-overtime effort last season. This will be the very first meeting between these interconfence rivals, and they will tip things off tonight at 7:30 PM ET from the American Airlines Arena on FSR-UT and/or Sun-Sports. The OVER/UNDER for the Jazz-Heat NBA Picks, is set at a combined total of 200½ points scored.
The visiting Jazz enter this game sitting in third place in the Northwest division, and have split their last 10 games played. On their current road trip, Utah split its first contests before losing to Orlando 104-99 on Monday. “We got lost defensively,” said longtime Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan. “That's tough to win.”
Meanwhile, Miami also comes in third place in their division (Southeast), but is only 4-6 in its last 10. The Heat has won six straight games at home against the Jazz, but it’s going to be a tall task to make it seven. With Dwyane Wade suffering from back problems and a sore right wrist, its going to be almost impossible for him to put up the numbers he did in last year’s triple-overtime win (50 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks).
Miami is coming off a tough 105-92 home loss to Portland on Sunday. “We had our opportunities,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They had their chances and they capitalized on them when it counted most. And it's a shame, too, because we played well enough offensively across the board, moving the ball, shot a good percentage … for us to come up short, it's a little bit frustrating.”
