Get excited NBA fans \u2013 we are officially back in action!<\/p>\n
While things look a little different – with all games being played in the Orlando Disney World bubble – boy will it be good to have basketball back.<\/p>\n
The 22 highest seeded teams will play eight games to finish off the regular season. The top seven teams in each conference will advance, while the eighth seed in each conference will be decided by a potential play-in tournament.<\/p>\n
From there, the traditional 16-team playoffs will begin. <\/p>\n New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n A massive Western Conference showdown kicks off proceedings between the Jazz and Pelicans on Friday morning at 8.30 (all times AEST).<\/p>\n Utah currently sit 1.5 games behind the third-placed Nuggets and will be looking to improve their seeding to gain a more favourable playoff matchup.<\/p>\n The Jazz had won three games in a row going into the league shutdown as one of the form teams. They have been defensively anchored all season by Rudy Gobert (averaging 15.1 points, 13.7 rebounds and two blocks per game) and led by Donovan Mitchell (24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists) at the other end of the court.<\/p>\n Utah will be without their best shooter Bojan Bogdanovic after he underwent season-ending wrist surgery.<\/p>\n After a slow start to the season battling several injuries, the Pelicans caught fire halfway through the campaign to make a charge towards a top eight seed. They currently sit 10th and are 3.5 games behind the eighth-placed Grizzlies. They will want to stay on pace with Memphis to force a potential play-in matchup or better yet take their spot.<\/p>\n Rookie sensation Zion Williamson was the talk of the league after firing out of the gates in his first season \u2013 averaging 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 19 games. He departed the Orlando bubble for family reasons but is back and ready to go.<\/p>\n The Pels\u2019 star power doesn\u2019t stop there, with Brandon Ingram (24.3 points, 2.4 threes, 6.3 rebounds) and Jrue Holiday (19.6 points, 2.1 threes, 6.9 assists, 1.7 steals) both enjoying stellar seasons.<\/p>\n The Jazz are 2-1 against the Pelicans in their earlier meetings this season.<\/p>\n Tip: <\/strong>Jazz +3.0 @ $1.87.<\/a><\/p>\n