The San Antonio Spurs may quality as one of the more “experienced” teams in the NBA, but they're also the top seed in the Western Conference.
The begin their quest for another NBA title with a first-round series vs. the Utah Jazz starting Sunday and most sportsbooks have them as a 10.5-point favorite for Sunday's series opener (1 pm Eastern, ESPN), with an 'over/under' of 207.
Most online sportsbooks (including Sportsbook) are also listing the Spurs at around -900 on their Game 1 moneylines, with Utah getting +650 to win outright.
On the NBA betting futures market, San Antonio is 2/1 to win the Western Conference and 9/2 to win the NBA championship, while the Jazz are getting 80/1 to win the West and 150/1 to win the league title.
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The age-defying Spurs, with genius Coach Popovich running the show, played it smart this season, resting starters from time to time, then made a late run to overtake Oklahoma City and earn the top seed in the West.
San Antonio won its last 10 games this season to finish at 50-16, tied for the best record in the league with Chicago.
Utah, meanwhile, won its last five games to finish at 36-30, earning the eight seed in the West. The Jazz struggled through a good part of the middle of the season, and sat at 20-22 in mid-March. But they won 16 of their last 24.
San Antonio took the season series from Utah this year three games to one. It should be noted that the the Spurs rested Duncan, Ginobili and Parker in the only game the Jazz won.
The totals split 2-2 in this series this season, even though the four games averaged a fairly healthy 199 points per.
On the injury front Utah F Paul Millsap sat out the team's regular-season finale with a sore groin, but he should be ready to go Sunday.
Both these teams love the home cookin'. The Spurs went 28-5 straight-up and an amazing 24-8 against-the-spread at The Barn, while the Jazz went 25-8 SU and 20-13 ATS at the place they now call EnergySolutions Arena.
But San Antonio also went 22-11 SU and 18-12 ATS on the road, while Utah went just 11-22 SU and 14-18 ATS on the room-service circuit.
Spurs vs Jazz Prop Bets from Sportsbook:
Series Price
Utah Jazz (Series Prices) 12/1 (+1200)
San Antonio Spurs (Series Prices) 1/20 (-2000)
Exact Series Result
San Antonio Spurs 4-0 3/2
San Antonio Spurs 4-1 1/1
San Antonio Spurs 4-2 11/2
San Antonio Spurs 4-3 9/1
Utah Jazz 4-0 400/1
Utah Jazz 4-1 200/1
Utah Jazz 4-2 40/1
Utah Jazz 4-3 50/1
Total Games in Series
Over Games O 5½ 3/2 (+250)
Udner Games U 5½ 4/13 (-325)
Total Games in Series
4 3/2
5 1/1
6 11/2
7 9/1
Series Game Spread
San Antonio Spurs -1½ 1/12 (-1200)
Utah Jazz +1½ 13/2 (+650)
Series Game Spread
San Antonio Spurs -2½ 4/13 (-325)
Utah Jazz +2½ 3/2 (+250)
Where will the Series be Decided?
AT&T Center , San Antonio 20/23 (-115)
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City 20/23 (-115)
Player Props
Average First Round Points Per Game - Tony Parker
Over/ Under 18
Average First Round Assists Per Game - Tony Parker
Over/ Under 7
Average First Round Points Per Game - Tim Duncan
Over/ Under 15.5
Average First Round Rebounds Per Game - Tim Duncan
Over/ Under 9
Average First Round Points Per Game - Manu Ginobili
Over/ Under 14
Average First Round Points Per Game - Al Jefferson
Over/ Under 18.5
Average First Round Rebounds Per Game - Al Jefferson
Over/ Under 9.5
Average First Round Points Per Game - Paul Millsap
Over/ Under 16
Average First Round Rebounds Per Game - Paul Millsap
Over/ Under 8.5
