A key NBA battle sees the visiting Jazz travelling to Portland Friday to face the Trail Blazers on Friday.

Portland will face the 36-36 Jazz, who own a 37-34-1 ATS mark on the season. (Note: follow us on Twitter for line updates and injuries news). In totals betting, the Trail Blazers are 38-33 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Jazz are 34-37-1 favoring the OVER.



View Utah vs Portland Odds and Stats.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Odds Shark Power Rankings have the Trail Blazers at No. 19 and the Jazz at No. 17 heading into this contest. Handicapping models run by the computers at Odds Shark project a 98-97 result in favor of the Jazz.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Portland's No. 14-ranked offense (98.1 PPG) against a Jazz defense that ranks No. 16 at 98.6 PPG. The Trail Blazers have averaged 44.9% from the field per game, less than the Jazz have managed so far this season (45.1% on average).

Defensively, the Jazz feature the league's No. 20-rated defense on the road, giving up 102.5 points per game. Portland, meanwhile, comes in at No. 12 in the league in scoring at home.

In their last action, Utah was a 103-88 Sportsbook at home against the Suns. They covered the 13.5-point spread as favorites, while the combined score (191) was profitable news for UNDER bettors. The Jazz got a 25-point performance from Al Jefferson as Utah ran past Phoenix 103-88 on Wednesday at EnergySolutions Arena.

Last time out for Portland, they were a 111-93 loser as they battled the Nets at home. The Trail Blazers failed to cover in the match as a 3.5-point favorite, while 204 combined points moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Portland got 24 points from LaMarcus Aldridge but lost anyway 111-93 against the Nets on Wednesday at Rose Garden.


Utah Jazz Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Brooklyn are 3-7
After playing Phoenix are 5-5
After a win are 4-6

Portland Trail Blazers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Golden State are 7-3
After playing Brooklyn are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5

A few Jazz at Trail Blazers trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Utah's last 5 games when playing on the road against Portland
Utah is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Portland
Utah is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Utah's last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland's last 5 games when playing at home against Utah
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland's last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 5 games
Portland is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games at home


Next up:
Utah home to Brooklyn, Saturday, March 30
Portland at Golden State, Saturday, March 30