Lakers vs. Jazz Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for April 9 (LA Aims to Avoid Play-in Tournament With a Win)

Lakers vs. Jazz Game Info

• Date: Sunday, April 9, 2023
• Time: 3:30 PM ET
• Venue: Crypto.com Arena -- Los Angeles, California
• Coverage: ESPN, SportsNet LA, and SportsNet RM

The 2022-23 NBA season concludes on Sunday with15 games, including a battle between the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz rank 12th in the Western Conference with a 37-44 record, while the Lakers check in seventh in the with a 42-39 record. This one lines up as a major mismatch.

Utah snapped a four-game losing streak with a 118-114 win over the Denver Nuggets its last time out on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Lakers have now won five of their last six games following a 121-107 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Which team will cap off the regular season with a victory?

Lakers vs. Jazz Odds & Spread

• All NBA betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: LAL: (-1600) | UTAH: (+900)
• Spread: LAL: -16.5 (-110) | UTAH: +16.5 (-110)
• Total: 233 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Lakers enter this contest as massive home favorites on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 3:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 233 points, which is above average compared to Sunday's projected totals.

Lakers vs Jazz Betting Information

Favorite	Spread	Favorite Spread Odds	Underdog Spread Odds	Total	Over Total Odds	Under Total Odds	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline
Lakers	-16.5	-110	-110	-	-	-	-1800	980

Lakers vs. Jazz Betting Trends

• The Lakers have gone 39-38-2 against the spread this season.
• This season, 41 of the Lakers' games have gone over the point total.
• The Jazz have hit the over 57% of the time this year (45 of 79 games with a set point total).
• Los Angeles has done a better job covering the spread at home (20-18-1) than it has in road affairs (19-20-1).
• Utah's winning percentage against the spread at home is .500 (20-18-2). On the road, it is .641 (25-14-0).

Lakers vs. Jazz Prediction & Pick

It's rare to see an NBA moneyline reach the level of this game (-1600), but this is a classic matchup between a team with something to fight for and a team with its playoff hopes already dashed. The Lakers sit 1.0 game back of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed and own the key tiebreaker.

That means a Lakers win coupled with a Warriors loss would allow LA to avoid the play-in tournament. The two teams play at the same time on Sunday, so expect LeBron James and Anthony Davis to ball out. After all, Utah ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency and 24th in points allowed per game (117.9).

Utah has lost eight of its last 10 games, so fade the Jazz in a game that means everything to LA.

Final Score Prediction: Lakers: 123 | Jazz: 109

Lakers vs. Jazz Best Bet

The Lakers should build a comfortable lead in this one and cruise in the second half, but covering a 17.5-point spread is a lot to ask of them. Utah is an impressive 8-0 against the spread (ATS) in its last eight away games and 5-1 ATS in its last six games overall. The Jazz continue to stay competitive.

Keep in mind these two teams met not even a week ago and that game needed overtime to decide a winner. LA came out on top by a score of 135-133, but the Jazz gave James & company all it could handle. Back Utah to come out with just enough fight as young players look to impress the coaches.

Bet: Utah Jazz +17.5 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.