Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz Picks and Prediction for Thursday, December 18, 2025
Use Code WWWC Los Angeles Lakers (18-7) vs. Utah Jazz (10-15)
The 2025-26 NBA season continues Thursday, December 18, with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference showdown at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT, so we’ve got the Lakers vs. Jazz prediction.
The Lakers meet the Jazz for the third time this season, and the Lakers aim for their third straight victory over Utah. They locked horns twice in November, with the Lakers beating the Jazz 140-126 in Los Angeles and 108-106 in Salt Lake City.
Read more about this Lakers vs. Jazz prediction, and make sure to check out all our NBA picks for Thursday’s slate. The tip-off at Delta Center is set at 9:00 PM ET.
The Lakers look to stabilize their form
The Los Angeles Lakers (18-7; 16-9 ATS; 17-8 O/U) have been inconsistent lately. They’ve won three of their previous six games overall, alternating losses and wins in the process. During that stretch, the Lakers have gone 3-3 against the number.
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Purple-and-Gold are coming off Sunday’s 116-114 road victory over the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, but found a way to come out on top. They hit just seven of their 37 shots from beyond the arc while going 33-for-43 from the foul line.
The Lakers love to get to the free-throw line. They lead the NBA in free-throw rate (.346). The Lakers make 35.4% of their 3-pointers (18th in the league) while tallying 119.1 points per 100 possessions (7th).
On the other side of the ball, the Lakers allow 117.5 points per 100 possessions (20th). Their defense ranks 19th in the league in 2-point percentage (55.6%) and 28th in 3-point percentage (38.1%).
Luka Doncic leads the way for the Lakers, averaging 34.7 points, 8.8 assists, and 8.7 rebounds. Austin Reaves tallies 27.8 points and 6.7 assists per game, but he won’t play Thursday against Utah due to a calf injury.
The Jazz aim for their third straight win
The Utah Jazz (10-15; 14-11 ATS; 16-9 O/U) have won four of their previous six games overall (4-2 ATS). After beating the Memphis Grizzlies 130-126 and the Dallas Mavericks 140-133 in overtime, the Jazz will search for their third straight victory when the Lakers come to town.
Last Monday, the Jazz outlasted the Mavericks mostly thanks to Keyonte George and Lauri Markkanen, who combined for 70 points. Utah went 13-for-36 from downtown and 27-for-33 from the foul line while posting a strong 33/13 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Jazz rank 10th in the league in 3-point rate (.434). They score 114.7 points per 100 possessions (tied for 18th in the NBA) on 54.5% shooting from inside the arc (tied for 16th) and 34.4% from downtown (tied for 23rd).
Utah allows a staggering 121.6 points per 100 possessions (28th). The Jazz have struggled to defend all season, and just two teams allow more 3-pointers per 100 possessions than Utah (14.7).
Markkanen leads the way for the Jazz with 27.8 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, while George tallies 23.5 points and 6.8 assists per contest. Utah misses Walker Kessler and Georges Niang, while Jusuf Nurkic is questionable for Thursday’s clash against the Lakers.
Lakers vs. Jazz Pick
Spread Pick for Lakers vs. Jazz
- Los Angeles Lakers -6.5 (5 units)
The Lakers are not a great defensive team by any stretch of the imagination, but their defense is still better than Utah’s, so I can only look at the visitors in this game. The Jazz cannot stop anything. Before they scored 270 points across those two wins over Memphis and Dallas, the Jazz had suffered a couple of heavy losses against the New York Knicks, 146-112, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, 131-101.
I noted Utah’s awful 3-point defense. Utah’s interior defense is not much better, so I expect the Lakers to torture the Jazz and attack the paint all night. The Lakers have taken a whopping 67 shots from the foul line through their first two encounters with the Jazz this season.
Over/Under Pick for Lakers vs. Jazz
- Over 243.5 (5 units)
I’m not surprised by that sky-high line. As I said, these two teams have struggled to defend a lot thus far. The Lakers heavily lean on their offense and have plenty of dangerous weapons in their arsenal. The Jazz can score, though their efficiency is not at the Lakers’ level.
The Lakers play at a steady pace, while the Jazz love to push the ball in transition and speed things up as much as possible. Just three teams record more possessions per 48 minutes than Utah. Hereof, I have to take the over.
Seven of the Lakers’ last nine games overall and five of the Jazz’s previous six have gone over the total. Also, the over is 11-3 in their last 14 head-to-head duels.
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