New Orleans Pelicans @ Indiana Pacers ( -13 ) – O/U: 207

*Projected Pace Rank: 1st

This should be a relatively easy win for the Pacers tonight. Paul George and Monta Ellis are your go-to guys without a doubt, but I think I’d prefer Ellis to fit more pieces into my lineup. PG13 had an awful showing against the Sixers on Tuesday, so he’ll look to rebound from that performance and there shouldn’t be much resistance in doing so.

Ian Mahinmi and Myles Turner should be able to feast on a defensive liability in the Pelicans frontcourt.

The Pelicans are falling apart piece-by-piece and Ryan Anderson has already been listed OUT for tonight’s game. Dante Cunningham will pick up his minutes once again, but it truly is rolling the dice with the man in the headband.

Jrue Holiday seems like a safer play to me; he’ll be doing the heavy lifting for a team that’s basically missing everyone. Luke Babbitt will be extremely popular tonight, and while I’m not 100% sold, you can’t deny his production when he gets significant minutes. I don’t mind Toney Douglas or Omer Asik.

Key Stats:

In their lone matchup this season, the Pelicans recorded a franchise-record 21 steals which inevitably forced 25 Pacers turnovers The Pacers outrebounded the Pelicans 54-37

The Pelicans have the fourth-worst 3-Pt% defense in the NBA

The Pelicans force the sixth-most turnovers in the NBA while the Pacers are fifth in turnovers

Cleveland Cavaliers ( -7 ) @ Brooklyn Nets – O/U: 207

*Projected Pace Rank: 5th

The Cavs will undoubtedly rest LeBron James or another one of their other key players (hell, maybe even all of them) since they played last night and are going against the lowly Nets. Everyone on this team is going to have a great matchup, but I want to see the news today before making a careful analysis on who you should be rostering. The seven-point spread indicates that guys are sitting because in the two previous matchups against the Nets, they were 10 and 13-point favorites.

I doubt Tristan Thompson or JR Smith will sit, but they are great plays in this matchup. If Kyrie Irving doesn’t get rested, he’ll be my favorite point guard on the slate. In two games against the Nets this season, Kevin Love is averaging 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds.

The Nets are in a very tough spot tonight, regardless of who the Cavs trot out onto the court. With Rondae Hollis-Jefferson back in the lineup, we’ll see some different rotations in Brooklyn tonight. RHJ played 15 minutes in his first game back after missing a significant amount of time. In his lone meeting against the Cavs this season he posted 31.5 FDP in 29 minutes; do not expect that type of run tonight, but he could make for an interesting GPP play.

Nets interim coach Tony Brown said yesterday that he’d be moving Shane Larkin and Sergey Karasev into the starting lineup tonight. I think Larkin could be interesting at the minimum price, however, we know the Nets like to split the minutes right down the middle with him and Donald Sloan. It does mean that he gets to play with more talented players, so there are more opportunities for assists. Karasev is basically irrelevant.

I’m not too high on Thad Young or Brook Lopez, as of now. However, if we see a good chunk of the Cavs sitting then that can all change. Bojan Bogdanovic is playing with so much confidence lately as two of his three career-high scoring outputs have come in the last four games. Sean Kilpatrick is also putting up some tremendous numbers off the bench.

Key Stats:

The Cavs have hit at least 10 three-pointers in a franchise-record nine straight games

Brook Lopez needs 22 points to move past Vince Carter into second place on the Nets’ all-time scoring list

Since the All-Star break, the Nets have the fourth-best 3-Pt% in the NBA (20th prior to the break)

Chicago Bulls ( -4 ) @ New York Knicks – O/U: 203

*Projected Pace Rank: 3rd

The Knicks had a very surprising win in Chicago last night, so look for the Bulls to come out with a vengeance in this game. I will be the first to tell you that I didn’t see that one coming and was so vehement on yesterday’s podcast that the Knicks were basically worthless in that matchup.

While the Bulls are still battling for a playoff spot, it doesn’t appear that Derrick Rose or Jimmy Butler will get rested tonight. However, there’s a good chance that Pau Gasol will be sat but I’m not particularly fond of Taj Gibson or Bobby Portis in this matchup. I like Butler the most out of anyone from Chicago and I think he’ll find his stroke tonight.

My man, Kristaps Porzingis, went B-A-N-A-N-A-S last night against this same Bulls team, and while I typically don’t like rostering rookies on the back-end of B2Bs, this matchup is too good. It seems like the Knicks are trying to get KP more minutes before the season ends, so I have no problem at all rostering him tonight.

It appears like Carmelo Anthony will play tonight since there’s been no word of a rest yet. The Knicks are still mathematically alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but let’s be honest, it’s over for them. I think until the Knicks have an “E” next to their name in the standings, Melo will do everything he can to get his team some wins.

I also like Aaron Afflalo even though he’s not in the starting lineup. He’s been doing great in this role serving as the main option on the second unit and it serves him well. Afflalo is one of the best cheap options at shooting guard tonight.

Robin Lopez shrugged off two horrendous performances against the Bulls earlier this season and had a tremendous performance which calculated out 39.1 FDP last night. Without Gasol, the Bulls defense actually gets better, but Lopez is on a roll right now and is the only Knick to start every game this season.

(NO MEDIA NOTES AVAILABLE FOR THIS GAME)

Utah Jazz @ Oklahoma City Thunder ( -9 ) – O/U: 198

*Projected Pace Rank: 4th

The Thunder actually have the worst drop-off in pace on tonight’s slate, but they should be just fine against the Jazz. I don’t know that I’ll roster Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook, but I won’t jump down your throat for doing so.

Other than those two guys, I have zero interest that from the rest of OKC.

For the Jazz, I think it makes sense from a salary cap perspective to go with either Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors or Shelvin Mack. Granted, these guys played last night but I think there’s a place for one of them.

All in all, I’m not too thrilled about the prospect of this game. Outside of KD and Westbrook, I wouldn’t be surprised if I faded everything else.

Key Stats:

Utah has lost nine straight games in OKC

In the last five games, OKC has won by an average of 15.4 PPG – averaging 119 PPG on 51% shooting during that span

Westbrook got his third consecutive triple-double on Tuesday against the Rockets, and it was the third time in his career he’s had that streak. Only Oscar Robertson (13), Wilt Chamberlain (6) and Magic Johnson (4) have more career streaks of three-plus consecutive triple-doubles. With 15 triple-doubles on the season, Westbrook has registered the most triple-doubles in a single season since Magic Johnson had 17 triple-doubles during the 1988-89 season. Also, six of Westbrook’s triple-doubles have been recorded through just three quarters of play (equaling the total from the rest of the NBA combined this season).

Portland Trail Blazers @ Los Angeles Clippers ( -4.5 ) – O/U: 212.5

*Projected Pace Rank: 2nd

Both teams were on the court last night, but they’ll be ready to go up against one another in this clash of Western Conference teams. The point guard battle between Chris Paul and Damian Lillard takes center stage, but I think CP3 gets the best of Lillard in this one. Last night, Paul really disappointed a lot of owners (including myself), but this is a matchup that he should be able to take full advantage of. Lillard should do just fine as well, but Paul is a much better defender. If we’re going to be mathematicians about the whole thing, Paul > Lillard.

I really like DeAndre Jordan going against a Portland team that has been giving up points to opposing centers in bunches. JJ Redick has a tremendous matchup in this game and Jamal Crawford should be able to make his mark on this game well. Jeff Green is a decent play if you need some value at small forward.

CJ McCollum and Mason Plumlee are the only two guys I’d consider from the Blazers. Of course, they have all these different guys that can contribute, but it’s tough to nail down who it will be on a nightly basis. If you want to take a chance on any of those guys, that’s up to you but it’s a situation that I’m willing to engage in.

Key Stats: