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As I mentiond last week, I love DraftEasy’s RapidFire contest when it is focused on just one game. When that one game is on national television and late enough that I can make it home from work in time to watch the entire thing, it is that much better.

Last week, my picks for the Fantasy Alarm featured contest fell just short, as just a couple more made shots from Donovan Mitchell could have put me over the top. We get another shot at Mitchell and his teammates this week, as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in our featured game.

Minnesota travels to Utah for the second of a back-to-back after losing in Portland Thursday. The Jazz, on the other hand, have a three-day rest advantage, and they haven’t played a road game in nearly three weeks. When in doubt, we will probably side with the Jazz, though that strategy only helps us for a couple of these matchups. With that in mind, let’s get to my picks for all five matchups in Friday’s Featured Game.

Fantasy Alarm Featured Game

Match-up 1: Donovan Mitchell vs. Jeff Teague

Jeff Teague is averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.3 steals over the last week. That is the good news. The bad news is he committed five turnovers in 36 minutes Thursday, and he is 9-for-28 from the field in his last two games. Mitchell is struggling from the field of late as well, shooting 37.6 percent over his last nine games. He also had eight turnovers in his last game, but Minnesota is forcing the sixth fewest opponents’ turnovers since Jimmy Butler went down. Mitchell is averaging 22.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 turnovers on 3+ days rest this season. Teague, on the other hand, is averaging 16.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.0 turnovers in two games against Utah.

Match-up 2: Andrew Wiggins vs. Rudy Gobert

Andrew Wiggins has at least 21 points in four consecutive games, and while he isn’t always efficient—he went 7-20 from the field Thursday night—he has at least 15 field goal attempts in each of those games.  Rudy Gobert has double-digit points in seven consecutive games, with double-doubles in five of those games. Andrew Wiggins played 38 minutes Thursday, and he could rack up turnovers and missed shots playing in the altitude at Utah. If Gobert has another double-double and adds in a few blocks, this could be a blowout.

Match-up 3: Jae Crowder vs. Derrick Favors

Jae Crowder has at least 11 points in every game with Utah, and he is averaging 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 28.7 minutes over those six games. Derrick Favors is averaging 13.0 points and 8.7 rebounds in 28.8 minutes over those same six games. Favors might have the more difficult matchup, if Taj Gibson plays, and he has also been less consistent. On the other hand, he has two double-doubles in his last six games, and if he gets another one, he probably wins this matchup pretty easily. Favors’s best play of late came with Ricky Rubio out, and now that Rubio is back, I will give the edge to Crowder.

Match-up 4: Nemanja Bjelica vs. Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford has seen a modest increase in minutes and field goal attempts with Jimmy Butler out, but Nemanja Bjelica is the one who has replaced Butler in the starting lineup. Bjelica is averaging 8.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals over the last week, and while Crawford is averaging 12.3 points over that same span, he doesn’t provide much in the other categories. Bjelica could see even more minutes if Taj Gibson is out, but I like him in this matchup either way.

Match-up 5: Ricky Rubio vs. Joe Ingles

Rubio has been underwhelming since returning from a hip injury, averaging 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists on .320 shooting over three games. With three days off, he should be able to top 30 minutes again, but I suspect the cold shooting will continue. Ingles is coming off a bad game against Houston, but his entire team struggled in that game. He is still averaging 14.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists over the last 30 days. If Rubio shoots the ball like he did before his hip injury, he is probably winning this matchup, but when did betting on hot shooting from Ricky Rubio ever go well for anybody? Give me Ingles.

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