NBA Grind Down: Thursday, February 25th - Page Two
San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz – 10:30 PM
- Vegas Line – San Antonio -3.5, 194 Over/Under
- San Antonio Spurs Proj. Starters – Parker-Green-Anderson-Aldridge-Duncan
- Utah Jazz Proj. Starters – Mack-Hood-Hayward-Favors-Gobert
| San Antonio Spurs | Utah Jazz | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 194.0 |  | Vegas Total | 194.0 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -3.5 | Vegas Sprd | 3.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 98.8 | Team Proj. | 95.3 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 96.50 | Team Pace | 93.20 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj. Starter | Tony Parker | Danny Green | Kyle Anderson | LaMarcus Aldridge | Tim Duncan | Proj. Starter | Shelvin Mack | Rodney Hood | Gordon Hayward | Derrick Favors | Rudy Gobert | |
| Opp. Season | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Opp. Season | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |
| Last 3 Weeks | 18 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 8 | Last 3 Weeks | 8 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 11 | |
San Antonio Spurs
Record: 48-9 — Road: 20-9 — Last 10: 9-1
- San Antonio Spurs Offense
Points Scored Per Game: 105.2 (6 of 30)
Implied Team Total: 98.8 (11 of 12)
Projected Point Differential: -6.5
Basically, the entire first page of the Grind Down is filled with great fantasy matchups. Tonight’s Spurs/Jazz game is a polar opposite. We have two of the top four defensive teams in the NBA. The Spurs are only projected to score 98.8 points, which is the second lowest team total on the board and 6.5 points below their scoring average.
- Utah Jazz Defense
Points Allowed Per Game: 97.1 (4 of 30)
Defensive Efficiency: 102.6 (14 of 30)
Rebounding Differential: 2.6 (7 of 30)
Fantasy Points Allowed Per Game: 184.9 (2 of 30)
The Jazz continue to climb up the defensive rankings. On the season, they are now ranked seventh or better in points allowed per game, rebounding differential, and fantasy points allowed per game. In addition to the poor matchup, the Spurs are also playing in the second half of a back-to-back. This game has FADE written all over it.
- Injury Watch:
Manu Ginobili (Out)
Matt Bonner (Out)
Elite Plays
NONE
Secondary Plays
NONE
Utah Jazz
Record: 28-28 — Home: 19-10 — Last 10: 7-3
- Utah Jazz Offense
Points Scored Per Game: 98.4 (26 of 30)
Implied Team Total: 95.3 (12 of 12)
Projected Point Differential: -3.2
The Jazz have won seven of their last ten games and are right back in the playoff mix in the Western Conference. They could really gain some momentum with a win over the Spurs tonight. This game is expected to stay close, but it lacks fantasy appeal. The Jazz are only projected to score 95.3 points, which is easily the lowest team total on the board.
- San Antonio Spurs Defense
Points Allowed Per Game: 92.7 (1 of 30)
Defensive Efficiency: 95.8 (1 of 30)
Rebounding Differential: 4.3 (2 of 30)
Fantasy Points Allowed Per Game: 180.3 (1 of 30)
The Spurs have the best defense in the entire NBA. They are ranked first or second in all four of the defensive categories listed above. They are also ranked fifth or better in fantasy points allowed to all five positions on the floor. As far as cash games are concerned, we can act like this game isn’t even on the schedule. The only intriguing play here is Shelvin Mack.
- Injury Watch:
Alec Burks (Out)
Elite Plays
NONE
Secondary Plays
| Shelvin Mack | |||||
 | FanDuel: | DraftKings: | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salary:$3,700 | Salary:$4,100 | ||||
| Position:PG | Position:PG | ||||
| FP/Min:0.93 | FP/Min:0.98 | ||||
| Statistics | Season Average | Last 10 Games | Last 10 +/- | Last 5 Games | Last 5 +/- |
| Minutes | 9.1 | 12.3 | 3.2 | 19.5 | 10.4 |
| FPPG (FD) | 8.5 | 11.6 | 3.1 | 16.8 | 8.3 |
| TO-Adj. Usage | 25.2 | 25.9 | 0.8 | 21.9 | -3.3 |
It didn’t take long for the Jazz to see that Mack is a better fit for this offense than Raul Neto or Trey Burke. After playing one game off the bench, the Jazz moved him into the starting lineup in his second outing. He should draw another start tonight and will likely see minutes in the upper 20s to low 30s. I absolutely hate the matchup, but the value is there and he really doesn’t need a big game to reach value.