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NBA

Denver return to comfort of home, host Jazz

The battle for top spot in the Northwest Division will be impacted greatly tomorrow with the first of four matchups this season between the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets. With both teams sitting on 22 wins, which is 1 win behind the division leaders Portland, neither team wants to give up a chance to jump a game in the race for a top seed in the West.

Utah has found recent form winning their last four games at home, while Denver has dropped their lost out West. Look for things to change tomorrow however as Denver return home where they have flourished this season (15-5 home record), meanwhile expecting the Jazz to falter on the road like they have all season (6-14 road record, as well as 1-1o in their last 11 road games).

The guard battle will be extremely important, with both Utah and Denver performing better when their star guards Deron Williams and Allen Iverson perform. Iverson has been in blazing form during the New Year, and is averaging 33.4 points and 7.5 assists per game during his last 8 games against the Jazz. Williams has also been playing during the current win streak, however like his team he has struggled on the road this season.

All this, combined with the fact that Kenyon Martin is expected to return for tomorrows clash who should help out in guarding Carlos Boozer, indicates a lot of value in Denver at -3.5.


NBL

NBL Value - Blaze v Crocs
The Gold Coast Blaze have been handed a serious blow in their first season as part of the National Basketball League with their star import Juaquin Hawkins. Hawkins suffered a stroke last week and will be gone for the season, which has the Townsville Crocodiles licking their chops.
The cross town rivals have been in a heated battle to try and grab hold of the fourth spot on the ladder and ensure home court in the playoffs. However with the loss of Hawkins and a recent road trip the Blaze now find themselves in the midst of a 3 game losing streak and now fighting for their lives simply to stay in the top 8. Meanwhile Townsville have won their last 2 games are currently tied in wins with the Perth Wildcats (sitting in 4th place).
Tomorrow's game will be on the Gold Coast where the Blaze have flourished this year, going 7-3. This said, the loss of Hawkins is far more detrimental to the team than his 13.6 points suggest. He was the glue of the team, a defensive specialist with the length, size and speed to guard multiple positions, he acted as a utility man for the team also being able to rebound and pass while shooting at 52% from the field.
It is this major loss that will see the Blaze falter at home tomorrow against the streaking Crocs who have been getting remarkable performances from star guard John Rillie, as well as quality outputs from their bench.
Value - Townsville to win at $2.50

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