Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up
NBCSports Header Logo

Paul and the Suns Visit Utah: Five Plays

Chris Paul

Chris Paul

USA Today Sports

Editor’s Note: Now, all our premium tools for Fantasy, DFS and Betting are included in one subscription at one low price. Customers can subscribe to NBC Sports EDGE+ monthly ($9.99) or save 20% on an annual subscription ($95.88). And don’t forget to use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!

The Late Sweat band of brothers look to rebound from a tough loss last week in Denver with a fistful of plays on the Suns’ game in Utah against the Jazz.

These two teams played on Monday in Phoenix with the Suns winning 115-109. Chris Paul was a rebound short of a triple-double in leading Phoenix to their 7th consecutive win.

It is expected the Suns will be without bigs Deandre Ayton (ankle), Jae Crowder (wrist), and JaVale McGee (knee) along with top reserve Cameron Payne (wrist).

The Jazz sat their usual starting lineup Monday night along with Joe Ingles. Most will be back tonight for Utah with the notable exceptions being Donovan Mitchell (concussion) and Rudy Gobert (calf). Unfortunately, the Jazz are 0-2 in games without Mitchell and Gobert anchoring the offense and defense respectively.

The Suns are 18-4 on the road while the Jazz are 15-9 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.

Corey Parson, Vaughn Dalzell, Kenny Ducey, Jake Wolf, and Johnathan Wright each take a unique look at a single aspect of tonight’s game where they are seeing value. Play them individually or should you choose to parlay all five and really work up a sweat, know that PointsBet Sports Book has decided to boost the odds.

Join NBC Sports EDGE Late Sweat crew tonight from 9:30-10 Eastern on Twitter Spaces as they talk all things NBA.

Corey Parson (@TheFantasyExec): Phoenix Suns ML (-200)

There is a lot of star power on these teams that will not be active tonight. Most noticeably, the duo of Donavan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert will be absent as mentioned earlier for Utah. Injuries and poor play are really slowing the Jazz down. Utah is 2-8 straight up in their last 10 games which includes Monday night’s lost to the Suns. Phoenix is banged up as well, but they are expected to have Devin Booker and Chris Paul available this evening which should be enough to secure them a Money Line victory.

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports): Chris Paul OVER 5.5 Rebounds (+115)

Back to the well on Mr. Reliable.

Rudy Gobert and Deandre Ayton are out for this matchup. Add to the list of sidelined Suns’ bigs the tandem of JaVale McGee and Jae Crowder. As a result, I expect Chris Paul to continue making a difference not only scoring and passing but rebounding the basketball.

In Paul’s last 10 games without Ayton, CP3 posted four or more rebounds in nine games (90%) and five-plus in eight contests (80%).

The books are reacting to this prop, setting his line at O/U 5.5 rebounds after posting nine in the previous meeting with Utah. Paul has totaled at least four rebounds in four of his past five games and double-doubled in four straight with his points and assists.

Get you some CP3 someway, somehow tonight.

The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!

Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey): Royce O’Neale over 5.5 rebounds (-125)

O’Neale has been cleared to make his way back to the Jazz lineup, and his return could not come at a better time. The Jazz are currently in a backslide and enter this one without their frontcourt anchor, Rudy Gobert. With Gobert off the floor this season, O’Neale’s rebounding rate has jumped 1.4% — the second-biggest increase on the team after Rudy Gay.

The forward has been pretty steady on the boards this season with 5.2 per game, and he’s eclipsed five boards on 15 different occasions. The number’s high, but he will not only take on more of the rebounding load but have a softer matchup. Phoenix is without Deandre Ayton, JaVale McGee and Frank Kaminsky, leaving just Bismack Biyombo down low. This is a perfect spot to back O’Neale.

Jake Wolf (@JakeWolf13): Chris Paul over 10.5 assists (+105)

Despite putting up the lowest usage rating since his rookie year, Chris Paul is having an impressive season at the age of 36. The Point God is once again leading the NBA in assists per game while averaging half as many turnovers as James Harden, the second-place distributor. Paul’s usage rate is by far the highest among the top-10 qualified leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio, with his 42.1% assist rate ranking third in the league. The veteran point guard also tops the league in potential assists, assist points created, and assist to pass rate this season.

The Jazz allow opponents to shoot 7.7% more often at the rim with a 3.8% bump in accuracy from inside four feet when Rudy Gobert is off the court, so Paul should be able to exploit holes in Utah’s defense tonight. Gobert’s absence should especially help Paul connect with Bismack Biyombo in this game. In seven games with Biyombo active, Paul averages 11.7 assists with an assist rate over 50%. I expect double-digit assists from Paul for the fifth consecutive game.

Johnathan Wright (@JwrightOfficial): Cameron Johnson Over 2.5 Threes (-171)

Cameron Johnson has turned into one of the best perimeter shooters in the NBA. He has a true shooting percentage of 62.0% (14th best in the NBA) and is averaging 2.5 3-pointers a game, putting him on pace to finish with the second-most 3-pointers made by a Suns’ player in a season. With Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton out, Johnson will likely see upwards of 30+ minutes. This is essential because in the ten games Johnson has exceeded 30 minutes of playing time, he has averaged 3.8 made 3-pointers on 8.1 attempts per game.

The Phoenix Suns will be up against the Utah Jazz tonight, a matchup that will favor Johnson’s 3-point tally. The Jazz are usually viewed as a strong defensive unit. However, due to their current roster situation, they have been playing the second-worst perimeter defense in the NBA, allowing opponents to shoot an average of 37.4% from behind the arc across the last ten games. Moreover, Johnson knocked down five 3-pointers against the Jazz in their matchup on Monday, so there is no reason to expect a different result from the Kentucky product tonight.

Late Sweat Summary:

Corey Parsons (@TheFantasyExec) Phoenix Suns ML (-200)

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) Chris Paul Over 5.5 rebounds (+115)

Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) Royce O’neal Over 5.5 Rebounds (-125)

Jake Wolf (@JakeWolf13) Chris Paul Over 10.5 Assists (+105)

Johnathan Wright (@JwrightOfficial) Cameron Johnson Over 2.5 Made 3’s (-171)

Enjoy the game and enjoy The Late Sweat.

Special Offer: Combine these five plays on PointsBet and get an odds boost to +1300!

PointsBet | The fastest growing online USA Sportsbook with fixed odds markets

PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links. NJ, IA, IN, IL, CO, MI, VA, WV only. 21+. T&C apply. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.