New Orleans Pelicans vs Utah Jazz

Spread: Jazz -7

Total: 216.5

Injuries

Pelicans

None

Jazz

None

Pace

Pelicans: 26th

Jazz: 24th

DvP

Pelicans: 17th vs PG / 15th vs SG / 16th vs SF / 10th vs PF / 9th vs C

Jazz: 4th vs PG / 23rd vs SG / 10th SF / 4th vs PF / 18th vs C

 

MVP/CPT

Zion Williamson , PF - We just saw Zion in this matchup, and he dominated, scored 32 points with five rebounds, three assists and one steal. The Jazz power forward rotation of Joe Ingles , Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O’Neal does not inspire much confidence in their ability to deal with Zion down low and while Gobert is certainly there to help, this is a matchup that he rightfully had little trouble. We have seen back-to-back 30-point scoring efforts out of Zion, and he has given us 39 or more fantasy points in six straight games.

Donovan Mitchell , SG – Yes, these two teams literally just played one another so running it back on guys who played well certainly makes a little sense. Mitchell has been a solid play all season but at times his shot was not dropping. Lately the shooting has been much better and there for the fantasy point shave been there which included 42 FP against these Pelicans just the other night. Not much will change defensively here which makes Mitchell a strong play.

Jordan Clarkson , SG – Clarkson is averaging career high’s in nearly every category this season. Coming off the bench he boasts a 26% usage rate and finds himself with a great matchup here, like Mitchell above, against the Pelicans. The mid-tier price tag will make him a very highly owned player regardless but spending down at your captain spot will help you fit in more talent.

Mid-Tier

Rudy Gobert , C – I don’t often want to face off against Steven Adams but Gobert had his number the other night and the fact that the Pelicans do have a traditional center should keep Gobert on the floor and in the paint, which helps his rebounding and shot blocking upside. Should we expect another ceiling game here? Probably not but a double-double with a few blocks isn’t out of the question.

Brandon Ingram , SF – Ingram did not have a great game last time out, scoring just 30 fantasy points. In fact, it has now been four straight games where Ingram has scored less than 40 FP. Not quite what we are looking for here out of him. The lack of secondary stats over this stretch has been the real killer with his assist and rebound totals below his seasonal averages. He is a risky play but has as much upside as anyone in this game if he starts contributing across the stat sheet and not just scoring.

Lonzo Ball , PG – Lonzo was limited to 23 minutes the other night and finished with 20 FP. If we find out that there will be no minute’s cap here, I will certainly have some interest given the likelihood he plays 30 minutes and can fill out the stat sheet. It has been an inconsistent season for Lonzo this year as he plays with high usage players such as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram but has shown flashes and both players are better with Lonzo on the floor.

Mike Conley , PG – It wasn’t the best game for Conley the other night, but he still dropped 10 assists over 28 minutes while shooting just 2-for-7 from the floor and 1-for-5 from three-point range. I’d expect a bounce back outing from Conley tonight in a matchup I think he can have success in against this Pelicans team with New Orleans ranking 17th against the position given DvP.

Dart Throw

Nickeil Alexander-Walker , PG – The return of Lonzo Ball did not impact the minutes of NAW whatsoever as the second-year guard played 31 minutes off the bench. Now, Lonzo was on a minute’s limit so that certainly had some to do with it but Alexander-Walker has also been outplaying Eric Bledsoe when on the floor and could find additional minutes there should Lonzo have no restrictions tonight. If Lonzo remains limited I think we could see a decent amount of ownership in play here as a spend down spot.

Bojan Bogdanovic , SF – Maybe finally finding his groove, Bojan has scored at least 22 FP in five of the last six games. The return of Joe Ingles the other night had us wondering how that would impact Bojan has prior strong games were with Ingles injured so it was nice to see him go for 26 FP. Now, Bojan still shot just 4-for-11 from the floor and 3-for-8 from three-point range so he is no sure thing, but his shooting has been better of late and that could be a sign of better things to come.