NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks

NBA Basketball

2026-02-05 - Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

Utah Jazz @ Atlanta Hawks
United States : NBA Basketball
Thursday 5th February 2025 - Scheduled 7:30pm
12:30am (British Time)

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Preview

The trade deadline will be expiring in the hours leading up the Thursday night NBA games and that has meant some uncertainty as to how rosters may end up looking.

This is something to keep an eye on if you are betting on multiple games, but the one that stands out for the NBA Picks comes from Georgia.

Both the Atlanta Hawks (25-27) and Utah Jazz (16-35) are considered teams in transition who are looking to turn the page on some of the older heads on the roster and keep developing young players.

Out of the two, the Hawks are clearly much closer to playing in the post-season compared with Utah, but both have already been making waves in trades this season and in the last few days.

After moving Trae Young onto Washington, the Atlanta Hawks have just shipped Kristaps Porzingis to the Golden State Warriors. Another veteran leaving the team shows the Hawks are prepared to build around a much younger roster, while the arrival of Jonathan Kuminga in the trade deal is going to get a lot of people sitting up and taking notice.

It has long been felt that a talented player like Kuminga needed to move away from the Warriors in order to show what he can do in a different system and that has finally become a reality for him. This is a deal that also works for Atlanta who can really assess Jonathan Kuminga through the remainder of the regular season and see if he can produce in the Playoffs as he has as a member of Golden State.

The Hawks are not the only ones making big moves with Utah having traded for Jaren Jackson Jr from the Memphis Grizzlies.

While this looks like a move that will speed up the Utah transition, the feeling is that Jackson Jr is going to be used sparingly over the next two months with the Jazz desperate to keep hold of a protected First Round Pick. That Draft Pick is only going to belong to Utah with a bottom eight finish and so this is a team that may soon choose to really begin a tank to the end of the campaign.

Utah did snap a six game losing run when winning at the Indiana Pacers most recently, but this is going to be the third stop in a five game road trip through the Eastern Conference. That can be challenging, as can the fact that the Jazz are playing an Atlanta team that have won five of the last seven and looking to climb further into the Play In Tournament spots.

Jaren Jackson Jr is expected to miss out on Thursday and that is going to put some additional pressure on the Jazz and their poor Defensive performances. Eventually the new player on the roster will make a difference, but Utah have been allowing teams to make far too many three pointers and this is something that the Atlanta Hawks can exploit.

A high-scoring game has to be expected considering the obvious flaws that the Hawks are trying to get younger players to improve. However, the home team have been much more effective at challenging the three point shooters compared with Utah and that may eventually see the Hawks come away with a double digit win.

The Rebounding numbers look to be in favour of Atlanta too, which can help with those second chance opportunities and fast breaks and the Hawks have already beaten Utah by double digits on the road.

This game will be close for a while, but eventually the stronger Offensive capabilities of the Atlanta Hawks should push them clear.

Prediction

Lay the points with the home favourite having likely completed their last trade deal on Wednesday.

The Pick :

Atlanta Hawks 119-109 Utah Jazz

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Atlanta Hawks - 9.5 Points at -108 with BetOnline