Denver at Utah

The Denver Nuggets will have some fan appeal, and will be liked by bettors too after going 12-0 ATS to open the playoffs a year ago. That won't happen this year as they have already dropped a one just two games into this series. They not only dropped a game, they lost one outright at home, and now have the daunting task to try to play catch-up in Utah, a graveyard of sorts for opponents over the years. The Jazz are 102-31 in this building over the last four years, while the Nuggets, who have never been a good road team, must try to get one here. The Nuggets have finished first or second in the division each of the last four years, but their overall road mark is under .500 for the four years. The Jazz are lights-out as a small home chalk, sitting at 22-5 ATS coming into this one. The Jazz’s home prowess has really been at its peak of late, scoring 118 points per game at home in their last nine (all wins), excluding a no-show season finale. The margin of victory in the nine games has been 17 ppg. The Jazz won't be slowed down by the Nuggets here and the 120s is certainly likely. As a result, the Jazz will be my NBA Playoffs Game of the Year (ATS) along well as a play on the OVER in this one.