New York Post may be compensated and/or receive an affiliate commission if you click or buy through our links. Featured pricing is subject to change.

The Jazz and Denver Nuggets have always presented a unique handicapping challenge with their altitude in home games. 

Adding that component to the long 82-game season means that Utah and Denver sometimes catch opponents in rare situations that the betting market cannot quite capture. 

The Jazz host the Detroit Pistons on Friday as 9-point underdogs with a total of 243 points. 

Utah is a distinctly different team at home. Utah ranks eighth at home in offensive efficiency but third-worst on the road. The logical explanation for that is their opponents struggle on defense in the altitude. 

Outcomes also reflect that. The Jazz are 7-10 at home, compared to 3-9 on the road. 

The point spread often serves as a measure of expectation, and the Jazz are outperforming the betting market in home games. They are 11-6 against the spread (ATS) at home and just 4-8 ATS in away games. 

Betting on the NBA?

That has also translated into 12 of their 17 home games going Over the betting total. 

Utah’s defensive efficiency is not much different with a 121.7 mark at home and 121.3 on the road. They rank as the NBA’s worst in both categories. 

Detroit is among the league’s top teams with a 24-6 record, and the Pistons also rank among the best in both offensive and defensive efficiency. However, I firmly believe the altitude disrupts everything and that is compounded with Utah’s performance in Salt Lake City. 

I have an 84-73-2 ATS record in this Post Sports section and my next play is Over 243 points.

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Doug Kezirian is a New York Post contributor who has over two decades of experience in the betting space, including spending 11 years at ESPN as a host, columnist and betting analyst. He’s also the rare personality who has documented success – 14th place in 2023 Circa Million and Las Vegas SuperContest ($37K), two top-10 finishes in 2022 William Hill College Football Challenge ($58K) and also grabbed headlines with a $297K win on the 2021 NFL Draft.