nba play 1/13

Sacramento -8 1/2 (Utah):

Chris Webber is out tonight. But I still like Sacramento. The fill in, Darius Songaila, is far from a stiff. Sacramento generally puts up a lot of points (I throw out the recent games against SA (best defense in the league) and @ TOR (second of back-to-back after good win in NY)). At home, SAC has beaten teams of Utah's caliber and a little better by double digits pretty consistently. Meanwhile, Utah is coming off a big win last night against PHX where they put up 115 running up and down the court, along with another big win against SA. They've got to be exhausted. This is a tough back-to-back. In addition, their point guard situation is all fouled up. Now Arroyo doesn't play; it's Keith McLeod. I don't think the Bibby-McLeod matchup is a good one for Utah. I think they will resort back to their point-deficient ways and their defense will be suspect. My guess is SAC puts up 105 tonight and Utah is in the low 90s.