Posted at 10:45 AM EST. Odds subject to change.

Pinnacle N/A BET365 +O58½ -125 Sportsinteraction O58½ -120 888Sport N/A

Golden State 1H team total over 58½ over Utah

Best Odds: -120 at Sportsinteraction

8:40 PM EST. The Golden State Warriors will be without Steph Curry tonight but we see that as a good thing for their production in this contest. Let us explain. The Warriors have been heavily relying on Curry all season, more than most seasons of the past, as he seems to be the only one of their classic big-3 (Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, for those who were born yesterday) that can still hold his own. That's devolved a bit since March came around, though, as we've seen a steady decline in Curry's scoring. The future hall of famer averaged just 22 ppg on a subpar 42.4% from the field last month, some of his lowest marks we've seen in a long time. His three-point hit rate in March was just 36.9%, which isn't terrible compared to the rest of the NBA, but for Curry that's an unusually low data point. For example, in 4 out of 5 months of the regular season prior, he averaged well over 40%.

At times Curry seems like he's nursing some kind of hidden injury or perhaps something weighing on his mind has taken him off his game. Whatever the case may be, coach Steve Kerr has made it abundantly clear that Curry has been depended on for far too long, and it's one big reason why the Warriors' head-man has made it a point to develop his younger players for the last few seasons. That strategy has mostly paid off. Golden State's bench ranks in the top 5 in offense and top 6 in net rating this season. In March, their bench ranks 3rd overall offensively. Besides Curry, the Warriors have a fully healthy roster for today's matchup against Utah (Jonathon Kuminga is officially questionable but reports imply he'll play).

And that's a good thing because they still have something to play for. Since they lost against Dallas two nights ago, Golden State has yet to officially clinch a spot in the play-in tournament. Houston has been chasing them for the 10th and final position. We're pretty positive that the Dubs would like to put that to rest today (they would also need Houston to lose, which is likely - they're 8-point underdogs at Dallas today), and fortunately they couldn't have asked for a better opponent to make it happen.

Since March 1, no NBA team has played worse defense than the Utah Jazz. In their current losing streak, a disgusting 11-game slide, Utah has allowed an unbelievably bad 121 ppg, with even mediocre offenses like San Antonio, Houston, and Cleveland experiencing massive success in recent outings. We won't go into detail about the Jazz, a team that has clearly given up on their season, but it's clear that Will Hardy is intent on letting his younger players get some more time on the court as they look ahead to next year. 

The Warriors are focused on this season. At home and motivated to secure a position in the playoffs, we expect the Golden State Warriors to take off in explosive fashion on Sunday. The market has made some of their totals lower than expected because of Steph Curry's absence, but we've seen plenty of instances where good teams rally and come out even more inspired without their star. Their early totals are not high enough considering the circumstances. Expect a statement from the home team in the first half.

Farley

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