My Monday free play will be on one of the Tuesday night NBA playoff games.
JAZZ at CLIPPERS
Take: JAZZ +8
Most NBA observers seem to be of the opinion that the window is closing on the Los Angeles Clippers, at least as far any serious title contention is concerned. I certainly would subscribe to that theory. More importantly, it kind of looks like the players on the Clippers might be feeling the same way.
It’s always a guess when observing from a distance as to chemistry on any team. But when I watch the Clippers, I just don’t see what I would call a winning attitude. There’s still plenty of talent on the roster, but no one can convince me this team is playing to its potential any more. I think it might be time to start an overhaul of sorts to try and get the right players on the court with Chris Paul.
The Utah Jazz look to me to be the polar opposite of the Clippers. The Jazz are okay on paper, but they’re better than that on the basketball court. I really like this team’s desire, and that’s on display on the stat sheet when peering at this team’s defensive data.
Utah was a winner in Game One at Staples Center and I don’t believe they’re just going to be satisfied with garnering home court advantage thanks to that win in the series opener. They’re have to go without Rudy Gobert thanks to a knee injury, and there’s no doubt the center’s presence will be missed. But I sure don’t envision this collection of grinders hanging their collective heads over their bad injury luck. Hell, the Jazz have been dinged up virtually the entire season, and they still managed two win 51 games.
The line on Tuesday’s game is higher than it was for the opener. The Gobert injury is contributing factor as is the thought many bettors will have that this is a put up more shut up game for the Clippers. I expect another competitive battle though, and I’d rather grab the ample points with the Jazz.
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My MLB Grinder 2* Best Bet is ready for Monday
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Good luck today.