Yesterday’s “Play of the Day” provided one of the most wonderfully concern-free days of the season, as the Charlotte Hornets demolished the (clearly tanking) Phoenix Suns, making a mockery of the 12.5-point spread. The home team flew out of the gate and established a 17-point lead at the first change, before running out 126-92 winners. Today’s 11-game card doesn’t show as much value as you would like to see from such a busy day… but another “Play of the Day” rises above the pack and demands selection.
Utah Jazz @ Toronto Raptors
Forget about the second half Toronto produced against the Detroit Pistons. Disregard it. Throw it in the bin! After being given that night off for rest purposes, Kyle Lowry returns to the Raptors lineup as they host a Utah Jazz team that is looking to snap a four-game road losing streak. Lowry was majestic in his last outing, scoring a career-high 43 points, including the game-winning step-back jumper, as the Raptors came from 14 down in the third quarter to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-97. What made that performance even more impressive was the extent to which it was a lone hand. DeMar DeRozan scored just six points on 1 of 11 shooting and no other Raptor scored more than 15, while Lowry shot an astonishing 15 of 20 from the field and his 15 free-throw attempts accounted for more than half of Toronto’s total number of foul shots (26). Having the two-time All-Star back in uniform will make a huge difference, as the Raptors continue to chase Cleveland for the top seed in the East. They are one of the last teams the Utah Jazz would want to see, at this point. Utah rank 28th in the NBA in scoring, averaging just 98.0 points a game and currently sit half a game behind the Houston Rockets for the Western Conference 8th seed. They’ve struggled on the road (9-19), while their hosts have the fifth-best home record in the league (21-6). The Raptors also hold slender advantages over the Jazz in terms of field goal percentage (+0.4%), three-point percentage (+1.5%), rebounding (+0.2) and turnovers (-1.7). While these are all individually minor, they are significant in combination. Toronto are 31-3 in games where they restrict their opponents to under 100 points, 30-1 when they lead in field goal percentage and 28-5 when they lead the rebound tally. Utah are 3-27 when they don’t shoot better than the other guys and 4-18 when out-rebounded. The Big Dog is stopping short of predicting another blowout but with their best side on the court, the Raptors should be able to control this game for the majority of the 48 minutes.
Selection
Toronto Raptors/Toronto Raptors (HT/FT Double) @ $1.97 (William Hill)
