NBA Grind Down: Friday, November 1st - Page 2
Dallas at Houston
| Dallas | Houston | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts |  | Vegas | |||||||||
| Spread | Spread | |||||||||||
| Pace | 96.25 | Pace | 98.64 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 22 | 26 | 21 | 25 | 22 | Season | 13 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 18 | |
| Last10 | 27 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 26 | Last10 | 13 | 29 | 19 | 13 | 14 | |
| Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert | Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Asik-Howard | |||||||||||
Dallas
Now this is the game that I’ve been waiting for. None of the previous games on Page 1 had a Vegas total over 200. This game has the third highest total tonight and there should be plenty of fantasy points to go around. The Rockets were one of the highest scoring teams in basketball last year and the Mavericks had a much quicker pace in their first game. This game could have some fireworks.
Players to Target
- Dirk Nowitzki – Dirk looks like the safest play on the Mavs tonight. He had a very efficient night against the Hawks by going 8/14 with 24 points. He will be matched up with either Dwight Howard or Omer Asik, either way he should have a huge advantage on the offensive side of the ball.
- Monta Ellis – I like Ellis as a GPP play tonight. He is a bit too inconsistent for me to use in my cash games, but in these big tournaments, he is the perfect play. He has high upside and a great matchup.
Houston
The Rockets played some defense in their win over the Bobcats. Either that or the Bobcats are just that bad. Either way, they now have two great defenders in Howard and Asik so even if the guards get beat off the dribble they will have some help at the rim. I love the matchup tonight against the Mavericks who have some very old legs in Nowitzki, Marion, and Dalembert.
Players to Target
- Dwight Howard – Dwight finished with 17 points and 26 rebounds in his Rockets debut and the most promising thing is that he looked engaged the entire game. He wasn’t throwing his hands up in frustration or committing silly fouls. When Dwight’s mind is in it, he is the best center in the NBA and it’s not even close. I love him again tonight against the Mavs.
- Chandler Parsons – Parsons had a quiet game the other night, but he logged an encouraging 39 minutes. He should be in for a nice game tonight against the Mavericks who are going to have to help off of Dwight in the post.
Detroit at Memphis
| Detroit | Memphis | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 188.0 |  | Vegas | 188.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 7.5 | Spread | -7.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.21 | Pace | 91.15 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | Season | 16 | 21 | 20 | 14 | 25 | |
| Last10 | 16 | 6 | 25 | 9 | 4 | Last10 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 7 | |
| Billups-Bynum-Smith-Monroe-Drummond | Conley-Allen-Pondexter-Randolph-Gasol | |||||||||||
Detroit
I mentioned in my first Grind Down article that I thought the Pistons would make the playoffs this season and after 1 game I’m feeling pretty confident about it. Yes, the sample size is small, but any team with Josh Smith, Andre Drummond, and Greg Monroe down low is going to be pretty good. It sounds like Rodney Stuckey will play tonight, but Brandon Jennings is still out so Will Bynum will get another start. He makes a good fill-in play again tonight, but the matchup is tough.
Players to Target
- Andre Drummond – Love the talent of Drummond. While having Monroe and Smith in the lineup with him will hurt his numbers somewhat, he is very affordable on sites across the board so you don’t have to count on him to score 30+ FP’s every night. I know the matchup with Marc Gasol doesn’t look great on paper, but play him tonight and thank me later. I think he will be a monster of the defensive side of th ball.
Memphis
The Grizzlies have the same team that they had last season and are going to try to grind out wins just like last season. They have one of the slowest paces in the league and like to milk the shot clock and play great defense. That usually doesn’t translate well to the fantasy game, but that doesn’t mean that you should avoid the game completely.
Players to Target
- Mike Conley – I don’t like the matchup for either Randolph or Gasol so that really only leaves Conley as a good play. He played well in the opener and is often the forgotten man in daily fantasy basketball. I like the matchup against Bynum and could see him topping 30 FP’s.
Oklahoma City at Minnesota
| Oklahoma City | Minnesota | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 202.0 |  | Vegas | 202.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 2.0 | Spread | -2.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 95.89 | Pace | 95.22 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 26 | 23 | 5 | 24 | 5 | Season | 5 | 19 | 9 | 7 | 9 | |
| Last10 | 25 | 21 | 2 | 20 | 11 | Last10 | 8 | 28 | 3 | 8 | 13 | |
| Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins | Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Pekovic | |||||||||||
Oklahoma City
The Thunder picked up a hard fought win in Utah in their opener and now travel to Minnesota to take on K-Love and the T-Wolves. The Thunder are going to rely on a single player more than any other team in the NBA until Westbrook comes back. Durant has to carry the load offensively. I think that he is going to have some monster nights, but that he is also going to have some poor shooting performances as defenses will surely be sending double teams his way. For that reason, I like Durant much more on sites that don’t negate for missed shots.
Players to Target
- Reggie Jackson – Jackson is in the same boat as Avery Bradley tonight. I like him on sites that haven’t changed his price yet, and I’m going to pass on him on sites that have already adjusted his price to where it should be. Use him in that manner.
- Kevin Durant – With Westbrook out, the Thunder need Durant to put up 35+ points a night. Durant put up a total up 48 shots the other night against the Jazz, half of those being free-throws. Until Westbrook comes back, I think you have to treat Durant as the #1 option any night that he is playing.
Minnesota
The T-Wolves are glad to have Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio back. They have a great young core of players, but have had a ton of injuries over the past couple of seasons. They really need all of their players to stay healthy if they want to push for that 8th seed in the West. A couple of notes from their first game: Corey Brewer is a great fit on this team, Nikola Pekovic is better than his first game performance, and Kevin Love is a monster.
Players to Target
- Kevin Love – Sure Ibaka is a nice defender, but a lot of that comes from his ability to block shots. Love uses his body so well that he makes it almost impossible for defenders to block his shots. And even if they do, he typically gets the rebound and goes up again. In his one start against the Thunder last season, Love had 28, 11, and 7 so I wouldn’t put too much stock into the Ibaka factor.
Miami at Brooklyn
| Miami | Brooklyn | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 193.5 |  | Vegas | 193.5 | |||||||
| Spread | -3.5 | Spread | 3.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 92.97 | Pace | 91.23 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 12 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 13 | Season | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 7 | |
| Last10 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 19 | Last10 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 6 | 22 | |
| Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh | Williams-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett-Lopez | |||||||||||
Miami
I guess the Heat can hang their hat on the fact that Wade didn’t play the other night, but they should not have lost to a young Sixers team. Especially after they took control of that 2nd quarter and make their big comeback. I guess when you are the two-time defending champs, you can get lazy every once in a while. I think that the Heat are going to be pumped up for their matchup tonight against their old Celtics rivals KG and Pierce. This should be a fun one to watch. I’m not too high on anyone in this game from a fantasy perspective, but I will certainly have it on my TV.
Players to Target
None, sit back and enjoy these two tough defenses battle it out.
Brooklyn
The Nets are going to take some time to gel. They have a completely new roster and a new coach to boot. That said, I think they will play well tonight against the Heat. You know KG is going to have his guys fired up for this one. The Nets have too many good players for any one of them to really be a great fantasy option though.
Players to Target
Avoid them the same as the Heat players, just sit back and watch this one.
Portland at Denver
| Portland | Denver | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 198.0 |  | Vegas | 198.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 5.0 | Spread | -5.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.72 | Pace | 97.76 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 23 | 9 | 28 | 10 | 29 | Season | 18 | 24 | 19 | 23 | 20 | |
| Last10 | 17 | 19 | 24 | 15 | 23 | Last10 | 9 | 30 | 16 | 23 | 24 | |
| Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez | Lawson-Foye-Randolph-Hickson-McGee | |||||||||||
Portland
Unlike the Heat and Nets game, this is one that you want to target players from tonight. The Blazers travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets in what should be a high scoring game. Last season, the Nuggets were in the bottom half of the league at defending PG’s, SF’s, and C’s. While I like LaMarcus Aldridge in this one, there are two other players that I think make better plays from the Blazers.
Players to Target
- Damian Lillard – Last season the Nuggets were one of the worst defending teams against PG’s. This is due to a combination of factors. First off, Ty Lawson isn’t a great defender, he takes way too many chances and would rather go for the steal than play solid perimeter defense. The second reason is that the Nuggets are one of the fastest paced teams in the league. This gives opposing PG’s more possessions to work with. I love the matchup for Lillard and I think this could be a game that he takes over.
- Nicolas Batum – Batum is my favorite kind of fantasy player. He can do a little of everything. He can score, pass, rebound, and defend. The sky is the limit for Batum in this type of matchup. When he is engaged on the defensive side of the ball and making deflections, it usually helps him be more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball. I usually like taking him in GPP’s, but I think he’s in play in all league types tonight.
Denver
The Nuggets missed out on an overtime session against the Kings on a missed layup by Ty Lawson. That was a fun game to watch and I don’t think this one is going to disappoint either. The Nuggets are one of the fastest paced teams in the league and are a tough team at home. The Nuggets will be without Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari once again tonight, so look for Randy Foye and Andre Miller to pick up some extra minutes.
Players to Target
- Ty Lawson – Lawson is really the only player that I’m targeting on the Nuggets tonight. He has a nice matchup against Lillard and both of these PG’s should go at it most of the game. It will be one of those what you can do, I can do better type of games from these two.