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Don't Expect Ja Morant to Repeat Play-In Game Performance vs. Jazz

By Iain MacMillan

Ja Morant will try to lead the Grizzlies to an upset win in Game 1 vs. the Jazz.
Ja Morant will try to lead the Grizzlies to an upset win in Game 1 vs. the Jazz. / Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
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Ja Morant went off for 35 points in an overtime thriller against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night to secure the final playoff spot in the NBA’s Western Conference.

Despite the strong performance, don’t bank on him repeating that level of success when he and the Grizzlies take on the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs on Sunday night.

WynnBET has Morant’s point total for Sunday night set at 21.5 with the under set as the favorite at -120 odds with the over set at +100.

I told you to take the under on his point total when he faced the Spurs in the first play-in game, and I’d suggest you do the same tonight.

Ja Morant has averaged 19.1 points per game this season, and tonight he’ll be facing the number two shooting defense in the NBA. The Jazz are keeping teams to shooting 44.7% from the floor, with only the Knicks (44%) ranking better. Utah is also allowing the third fewest points per game this season at 107.2, behind only the Lakers (106.7) and the Knicks (104.7).

One could counter my argument by pointing out that Morant played two of his better games this season against the Jazz. He scored 32 points in a 144-117 loss to them on March 26, and 36 points against them in a 111-107 loss to Utah on March 31. The third contest reflects a better representation of what we’ll see tonight, as he scored only 12 points while shooting 33.3% from the floor against them in a 126-110 loss on March 27.

WynnBET has the No. 1 seed Jazz set as a nine-point favorite in Game 1 on Sunday night with the total set at 217.5. The Jazz are also -1500 favorites to win the series (93.75% implied probability), with the Grizzlies coming in at +550.

Both teams have covered the spread at a similar rate this season, as the Jazz enter the game 41-30-1 against the spread, while the Grizzlies have an ATS record of 42-31-1.

NBA Twitter may not be excited for a first round series between the Jazz and Grizzlies, but there are certainly plenty of betting opportunities.

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