Jazz vs. Lakers Odds, Picks, Predictions: Back Utah, Even Without Mitchell

Jazz vs. Lakers NBA Odds

The Utah Jazz continue life without Donovan Mitchell on Monday night when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center.

Mitchell was injured against the Pacers on Friday night and missed these teams' matchup on Saturday night, although he wasn't the only regular missing in that game for Utah.

The Lakers continue to tread water until they get Anthony Davis and LeBron James back. One is nearing a return, and there's an outside chance he's back for this game.

Let's dig into the matchup and find the betting value.

Utah Jazz

These teams met on Saturday night, but the Jazz were without Mike Conley, Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell when the Lakers won, 127-115.

Conley and Gobert rested, but Mitchell hurt his ankle on Friday night against the Pacers and will be out for at least another week. The good news is that an MRI on his right ankle showed no structural damage, so it’s now a matter of making sure he makes it to the playoffs healthy.

Assuming Conley and Gobert are back, the Jazz will otherwise be as close to full strength as they can be.

Utah is 6-4 over its last 10 games straight-up, although its +7.9 Net Rating ranks third in the NBA during that stretch entering Monday. Most of those games were with Mitchell, of course. With Mitchell, half of the Jazz’s shots this season have been 3-point attempts. Without him, it’s fair to assume that trend will continue.

Against the Lakers on Saturday night, 59 of Utah’s 101 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc. Jordan Clarkson shot 15 of them, Joe Ingles 12 and Royce O’Neale 10.

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Los Angeles Lakers

The question looming over the Lakers at the moment is the status of Anthony Davis. Head coach Frank Vogel said Davis was “unlikely” to play on Sunday before saying that it’s “not out of the question” to face the Jazz.

Obviously, Davis playing would be a big boost for the Lakers. He’s unlikely to come back and play 35 minutes right away, but even 25 would be great.

Davis has been out since Feb. 14, missing the Lakers’ last 29 games. LeBron James, meanwhile, has missed the last 15, during which LA is 7-8.

The Lakers haven’t completely imploded without Davis and James because of their stellar defense. Over those 15 games without either star, the Lakers entered play on Sunday with a 105.4 Defensive Rating, which ranked fourth in the NBA according to NBA Advanced Stats.

Offensively, it’s clear Los Angeles needs at least one of Davis or James. Their Offensive Rating over their last 15 games is 105.1, but they’re not going to repeat as champions because of their offense, if they do.

Jazz-Lakers Pick

This line opened at Jazz -5. Even without Mitchell, Utah can maintain its offensive identity and match up well with the Lakers on defense.

I assume the line will go down if Davis does in fact play, in which case I still would like the Jazz since he’s unlikely to resume his regular role immediately. I expect Utah to win either way, although it's unlikely to be pretty given the Lakers' defensive prowess. We’ll back Utah up to -6.5.

Pick: Utah -6.5