10* Under Clippers/T'Wolves (9:35 ET): Most power rankings call the Clippers the third best team in the league right now, the obvious front-runners being Milwaukee and the Lakers. I'm going to disagree. Doc Rivers' team has won three straight, all on the road, and 12 of its last 14 overall. Wednesday saw them deliver a resounding 20-point win in Toronto as for the third time in the last five games they held their opponent under 100 points. I'm looking for another strong defensive effort tonight in Minnesota.

The Timberwolves have gone Over in five consecutive games, all of them losses which have seen the opposition average a ghastly 130.8 PPG on 54% shooting. It's six-game losing streak overall and while I'm not going to make the case for that to come to an end this evening, I will call for a better defensive effort than what we've been seeing. Don't those awful defensive numbers have to start improving simply by default? Not surprisingly, the O/U line is high for tonight's game.

Six of the last seven meetings between these teams have gone Over. But the Clippers didn't have Kawhi Leonard or Paul George for any of those. This is a better defensive team now, one that should keep Minnesota in check tonight. While they've yet to face Minnesota this season, LA is 5-0 Under against the rest of the Northwest Division. Those turning on ESPN tonight expecting lots of points will end up disappointed. 10* Under Clippers/T'Wolves

10* Over Devils/Avalanche (9:05 ET): Colorado is a team I've been wanting to speak on for awhile now. I just haven't had the right opportunity. Winners of seven of their last eight games (beat a good Flyers team 3-1 Wednesday night), the Avs now have - by far - the best goal differential in the Western Conference. It's at +29, more than double what any other team in the West has. In fact, it's the best goal differential in the entire league right now.

Judging by the line, it should be another easy win this evening as New Jersey comes to town. The Devils have the second fewest number of points in the entire league right now, ahead of only hideous Detroit. It's a six-game losing streak for NJ, who has been outscored by 37 goals in 30 games. Only two teams - the Red Wings and Sharks - have allowed more goals this year. So, with their top line back intact, you have to think the Avs are salivating a bit at the notion of how often they should be lighting the lamp tonight.

In the L8 games alone, Colorado has scored 33 times. The only team in the league w/ more goals on the season is Washington. They average 4.0 per game at home and are getting a lot of shots to boot. On the flip side, New Jersey gives up lots of shots and goals (3.9 per game on the road). The only concern the Avalanche should have going into this game is how rusty goaltender Philipp Grubauer might be if he does indeed make his return. If he doesn't, backup Francouz may not be able to continue his strong recent play. The Avs are also down a defenseman (Makar). The Devils' goaltending situation is dire. 10* Over Devils/Avalanche

10* Indiana (7:35 ET): The Pacers just picked up a big conference win on Wednesday, beating Boston 122-117 here at home. They came from behind, overcoming a 10-point deficit and 44 points from Kemba Walker, in doing so. Now they'll be taking on a far less formidable foe in Atlanta, a team they have beaten six straight times. While the game is on the road, the spread should be a lot higher than where it opened at. The Hawks have surrendered 130+ points in three of the last four games. Lay the points.

I faded Atlanta in its most recent game, Wednesday in Chicago, noting what a horrible spot it was for such a bad team. Just the night before, they'd blown a six-point lead in the final minute of regulation and lost to Miami in overtime. Sure enough, the Hawks came out like a defeated team on Wednesday, allowing the Bulls to shoot an insane 57.4% from the field. It was the Bulls' best game of the season, which isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of what's going on in Atlanta right now. This is a team that's won just twice in its last 15 games.

The Hawks are very clearly one of the worst teams in the league this year. They are being outscored by 10 points every 100 possessions and are second to last (tied w/ Cleveland) in defensive efficiency. A couple weeks ago, they were able to stay within one point of the Pacers in Indiana, but that was an off-shooting night for the Pacers. Trae Young also went for a career-high 49 points. While that game may have been close, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect Indiana to win by a larger margin tonight. They just scored 122 on one of the league's better defensive teams. 10* Indiana

8* San Jose (10:35 ET): Following a five-game losing streak, the Sharks fired coach Peter DeBoer. Tonight is their first game for interim Bob Boughner. It’s also a home game. The last four were all on the road. They face a weak Rangers team. Normally, after a coaching change, we see teams respond positively. That’s what I’m banking on here.

The Sharks were outscored 15-3 the L3 games, causing DeBoer to be shown the door. Prior to the five game slide, they’d won five of six. So they are capable. This is a better team at home, as you might expect. They’re due to start scoring as well.

The Rangers have 33 points, one more than San Jose. But they couldn’t beat the last place Kings their last time out. That was the third time in five games they were held to one goal. This boils down to the sense of urgency for the Sharks. I also noticed they’ve lost three straight times to the Rangers, something that won’t sit well with them either. Sharks are the better team here. 8* San Jose

8* Over Maple Leafs/Flames (9:05 ET): After finishing first in the West last season, Calgary started slow this year. But a coaching change seems to have done the trick as they’ve gone 7-0-1 the last eight games to get to third in the Pacific. They’ve won six straight, scoring 24 goals in the process. The last four games have all gone Over.

Toronto has notched nine goals in its last two games, both road wins. It’s a difference of three points between 2nd and 6th place in the Atlantic right now and only the top three are guaranteed to make the playoffs. So the Leafs will have to keep it up as they play their next two games in Alberta (Edmonton Saturday).

Toronto averages 3.5 goals per game on the road. Calgary is averaging 3.4 gpg on the road. Both are solid averages. Plus both are in good form offensively of late. It all adds up to a likely Over. 8* Over Maple Leafs/Flames

10* Grand Canyon (9:00 ET): Back on Sunday, Grand Canyon failed in its attempt to become the first team to knock off (still) unbeaten Liberty. They lost 70-61, but did cover for me as 9.5-point dogs. Tonight the Antelopes face another hot team, that being Northern Iowa, who just knocked off Colorado. While off to a strong 9-1 SU and 7-1 ATS start to the season, I think this is a dangerous spot for UNI to be laying points. Their last five games have either been non-lined or seen them as underdogs.

Grand Canyon went scoreless for about 6:30 in the second half Sunday, which ended up costing them the game. Poor shooting has been a problem for Dan Majerle’s team this year, but eventually these open shots will start falling. This is a team that’s been in every game but one (at San Diego State). They are 31-8 SU L39 home games.

Northern Iowa’s win over Colorado was their first over a ranked opponent in the last seven tries. They were red-hot from the floor, especially from three-point range where they made over 50 (14 of 26). Can’t see that kind of shooting happening again in a second straight road game. It’s also their second road game in three days, a tough spot. Four of the Panthers wins so far have been by five points or less. 10* Grand Canyon

10* NY Jets (8:20 ET): With three games left in the season, the Jets have already improved on last year's season-win total. This despite a 1-7 SU start w/ QB Darnold missing time due to mono. The Jets were a team that I predicted would improve upon LY's win total. Granted, I thought they'd win have more wins than five at this point and maybe they would had Darnold not missed those three games (all losses). Certainly no one is expecting the Flyboys to win Thursday as they visit Baltimore to face the 11-2 Ravens. But I do think they can stay within the number. Take the points.

The Ravens emerging as the NFL's best team is NOT something I saw coming. But here we are and they have the best record, best point differential and highest scoring offense. They are 3-0 SU against the league's other 10+ win teams. But the last two games have seen John Harbaugh's team cut it a little close as they needed a last second FG to get by the 49ers here at home, then last week it was just a 7-point win at Buffalo. But the biggest concern right now is the health of QB Lamar Jackson, who is listed as questionable for this game due to a quad injury. Were the Ravens to rest him, that would obviously be a big boost for the Jets. If not, we're still getting a decent number.

This being a short week, no one would fault Baltimore for sitting Jackson in this one. (Well, except the TV networks!). Another reason the team may error on the side of caution is LT Ronnie Stanley is listed as doubtful due to a concussion. The Ravens have only been double digit favorites three times and failed to cover twice. The Jets have won 4 of 5 and with the exception of that ugly loss in Cincinnati, haven't been beaten by more than 14 pts since the MNF disaster vs. the Patriots. If Jackson does play, note the Jets defense leads the league in yards per carry allowed (3.03). This play stands regardless if Jackson plays. 10* NY Jets

8* Over Oilers/Wild (8:05 ET): Edmonton has led the Pacific Division much of the season, but they’ve been far from a dominant first place team. They’ve scored only one more goal than they’ve allowed. It was not a stellar defensive effort on Tuesday when they lost 6-3 to Carolina. Scoring hasn’t been a real concern. Only two teams in the Western Conference have more goals scored this year. But only three have conceded more.

It’s not difficult to figure Minnesota out. This is not a good road team as their record outside the Twin Cities is just 7-11-2. But at home, they are 7-1-3. They are averaging 3.55 goals per game here on home ice. That’s up from 2.6 on the road. But like the Oilers, the Wild give up their fair share. They are one of the three teams in the West that have allowed more goals than Edmonton. 8* Over Oilers/Wild

10* Over San Diego/CS-Fullerton (10:00 ET): If only my recent focus on targeting the few remaining unbeatens left in College Basketball had been more widespread. The number of teams now left without a loss is down to five (w/ two of them being Duquesne and Liberty). That's down almost 75% from where we were at this time last week. I haven't always gone against the "right" unbeatens, but the mindset proved correct. So did targeting teams that had either perfect Over or Under records. That list is also dwindling. Tonight we'll look to go Over on a team that has the most Unders w/o an Over this season, that being Cal State Fullerton.

Cal State Fullerton is 8-0-1 Under so far, but the last two games have both threatened to go Over. It was a push (121.0) in a 62-59 loss at Pacific last Wednesday. The Titans lost by that identical score at home to Sacramento State on Saturday, but the total was one-half point higher (121.5), meaning another Under. Tonight they welcome in San Diego, who's not exactly an offensive juggernaut, but they'd gone Over in four straight before holding Holy Cross to 51 on Saturday.

You'll notice this O/U line is noticeably higher than the last two games for CS-Fullerton. That's because they're up against an opponent that is a far bigger threat to score. San Diego's last game had their highest total yet. That made sense as they were coming off four straight Overs. Now the number is back down. The Over is 4-1 this season for the Torerors when the O/U line is 135 pts or less. I've got to think CS-Fullerton's overall shooting is going to improve. 10* Over San Diego/CS-Fullerton

8* Over Grizzlies/Suns (9:05 ET): Memphis has increased its scoring the last two games, which it will need to continue to do tonight as they face Phoenix. Scoring 112 wasn't enough Saturday night in Utah as they gave up 126. But 110 was enough Monday when they faced Golden State. But the Suns are far more prolific offensively than the Warriors. (Words I did not plan on typing this season!) It's going to take another strong offensive effort from a team that doesn't play much defense to win this one. Take the Over.

With so many of the "usual contenders" in the Western Conference (like Golden State and San Antonio) having down years, the Suns are one of the teams trying to step up and fill that playoff void. They currently have the NBA's second longest active playoff drought, but right now are in the top eight w/ an 11-12 SU record. It's tenuous though. Phoenix remains shaky defensively as the last five games have seen them allow 49.0% shooting and 117.6 PPG.

The Suns can score though. Only four teams are averaging more points per game. They should have no problems here against a Memphis side giving up over 115 PPG. Good news for playing the Over in this one is that both teams are in the top 10 in pace of play. The Over is 10-3 in Suns' home games, including 4-1 when the number is 230 pts or higher. 8* Over Grizzlies/Suns