Jazz battle for playoff position in New Orleans

Basketball Betting Lines

04/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah returns to the hardwood tonight in the Big Easy against the New Orleans Hornets hoping to improve on its playoff position in the jumbled Western Conference.

The Jazz enter tonight's contest as the West's fifth seed but are just one- half game behind both Dallas and Phoenix and one game south of Denver, which also leads Utah for the Northwest Division crown. Securing one of the top four seeds and homecourt advantage in the first round of the postseason is paramount for each of those clubs.

The Jazz took a big hit in their last encounter as the lottery-bound Rockets dismantled them in Houston, 113-96, on Wednesday. Kevin Martin and Aaron Brooks each scored 28 points to lead the Rockets in that one.

Utah was coming off Tuesday's 140-139 overtime win over Oklahoma City, but totaled 26 turnovers in losing. Carlos Boozer had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Jazz.

"They played better than we did," Boozer said. "They hit shots, they rebounded, they played well. I know we were all searching for our energy. We didn't have it, but that's not an excuse. They took it to us."

The setback could have been Utah's second straight, as the NBA admitted Wednesday that game officials made a mistake Tuesday. The league said officials missed a foul on the Thunder's Kevin Durant as he attempted a three- pointer at the buzzer, which allowed the Jazz to come away victorious.

Standout center Mehmet Okur left in the third quarter against Houston with a sore Achilles' and did not return. The veteran is questionable for tonight's contest.

The Hornets, meanwhile, continue to stumble toward the finish line and lost their fourth straight on Wednesday when D.J. Augustin made a key three-pointer with 15.8 seconds left, as the Charlotte Bobcats clinched the franchise's first- ever playoff berth with a 104-103 victory over New Orleans.

Rookie Marcus Thornton finished with 36 points for the Hornets. Fellow freshman Darren Collison had 24 points and nine assists, while David West added 13 points and eight boards in defeat.

"I thought we did a good job just fighting and staying competitive," West said.

Star point guard Chris Paul has been shut down for the season by the Hornets. Paul played in seven games after missing two months due to a knee injury but suffered a ligament tear in his right middle finger.

The injury will not require surgery and the timetable for Paul's return to basketball activities is approximately seven weeks.

"It has been a very difficult season for me in terms of injuries," said Paul. "I hate not being out on the court helping my team, but the best thing for me to do is to get completely healthy. I am hopeful to be back playing basketball by June."

Utah has taken six of the past seven meetings in the series.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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