NBA - 701 Utah Jazz @ 702 Toronto Raptors
Projected Line: Utah by 6 points
Toronto is coming from a home loss against Philadelphia, where after building a small lead in the first quarter, they were outscored in the second quarter by a ridiculous 32-7, mostly due to the fact that Toronto's second unit had zero offensive ability with Ed Davis, Amir Johnson, Linas Kleiza, Terrence Ross and John Lucas! With Kyle Lowry and Landry Fields injured, Toronto inserted into the lineup Jose Calderon and Alan Anderson, in a move that left their second unit without any decent scorer. With Kyle Lowry, Landry Fields and Alan Anderson out for tonight's game, Toronto will have to insert either Dominic McGuire or rookie Terrence Ross in the starting lineup and this will cause their second unit to be even weaker than they were against the 76ers, where they managed to shoot 2-20 FG during the second quarter of that game.
With so many absences, Toronto will become a predictable team on offense, while facing a tough matchup on defense for them. Even though they had one of the best rim defenses last season, the Raptors are allowing 68% FG at the rim to their opponents this season and this is a bad sign when you face an Utah team, with a powerful frontcourt, who is currently shooting 70% FG at the rim this season. With Mo Williams out due to injury, Utah is now starting Jamaal Tinsley at the PG position and this lineup change has made the Jazz comeback to their last season's roots, when they were all about pounding their opponents down low. This is why they crushed Phoenix on their last game, with Paul Millsap shooting 7-11 FG, Al Jefferson 12-20 FG, Derrick Favors 4-5 FG and Enes Kanter 3-3 FG, for a combined of 28-39 (72%) FG! The Jazz shot 21-27 FG at the rim and 8-12 FG on post up plays during that game, in a very dominant performance of their frontcourt. With Toronto struggling to defend the paint this season, I expect Utah to pound them down low.
Not only Utah will have a clear edge on their offense down low, as they will certainly have more options on their bench, while facing a terrible Raptors second unit that can't score to save their lives. The Jazz has a good spot to pick up a good road win against a depleted Raptors lineup and therefore, I'll take Utah tonight for a comfortable win.
Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 701 Utah Jazz (-2,5) @ -110 / 1.91 on 5Dimes
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