NBA Grind Down: Monday, December 30th - Page 2
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Charlotte at Utah
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Tolliver-McRoberts-Jefferson
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Williams-Favors
Charlotte
The Bobcats travel to Utah to take on the Jazz in what will be Al Jefferson first game back in Utah. Jefferson faced the Jazz earlier in the season and put over 40 FP’s. That game was played at home though and tonight he will have to deal with the fans that used to be cheering for him. The Jazz have defended SG’s well this season, but rank 14th or worse against the other 4 positions.
- Kemba Walker – Kemba has played much better at home this season, but he has really turned it on over the last couple of weeks. He has topped 31 fantasy points in 7 of his last 8 games and should top that again tonight against the rookie Burke.
- Al Jefferson – I think Jefferson is a bit overpriced on a couple of sites (17.7k on DS), but I think he is in play on the sites where his salary is affordable. Jefferson will have that added motivation to play well tonight and I think he can top 35 FP’s against his former team who have really struggled to defend Centers.
Utah
This doesn’t happen often, but the Jazz are favorites tonight against the Bobcats. While the total is only set at 188 points, I think there are good options from both teams. The Bobcats DvP rankings have been very inconsistent. If you compare their season long rankings with their rankings from the last 15 days, you will see that they have not consistently defended any one position well. I think Trey Burke makes a great value play tonight. He is averaging over 25 FP’s at home this season.
- Derrick Favors – Favors is the play from the Jazz tonight. Al Jefferson has never been known for his defense and Favors will want to outplay his former teammate. Favors put up 29 FP’s in his first matchup against Jefferson, but I expect him to play much better this time around.
Phoenix at L.A.Clippers
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Bledsoe-Dragic-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Crawford-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
Phoenix
The Suns face the Clippers in what is really the only game that has any blowout potential. The Suns are 8 point underdogs here. I’m having a hard time deciding if I want to fade this game or not because if the game stays close, it should be high scoring and there will be some great fantasy value on both teams. The Clippers have really struggled to defend the paint this season, but I just don’t trust any of the Suns’ bigs.
- Eric Bledsoe – The one play that I really like here is Bledsoe. His price has come down across the board even though he has topped 38 FP’s in 3 of his last 4 games. Bledsoe is facing his former team for the first time and you know he will want to play well in this one.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers are facing a Suns team that has been very average defensively this season. The Suns rank between 10th and 19th at defending every position. There aren’t any plays that really stand out to me here, but I like Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. Take any of those three if their prices are reasonable. I would stay away from the wing positions though. Now that Barnes and Jackson are both playing, it really hurts the minutes for Crawford and Dudley.