NBA Grind Down: Friday, November 1st - Page 3
Utah at Phoenix
| Utah | Phoenix | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 196.0 |  | Vegas | 196.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 3.0 | Spread | -3.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.40 | Pace | 95.95 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 17 | 12 | 14 | 29 | 28 | Season | 24 | 7 | 6 | 27 | 3 | |
| Last10 | 29 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 29 | Last10 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 24 | 3 | |
| Lucas III-Hayward-Jefferson-Favors-Kanter | Dragic-Bledsoe-Tucker-Plumlee-Frye | |||||||||||
Utah
Now to break down a team close to my own heart. The Jazz played well against the Thunder in their opener, but ended up falling a bit short. Vegas believes in them though as they are only 3 points underdogs in tonight’s game against the Suns. The PG situation for the Jazz is a mess so I don’t recommend taking either Lucas or Tinlsey. The players that you want to target here are the young big men of the Jazz.
Players to Target
- Derrick Favors – With both Jefferson and Millsap out of Utah, Favors and Kanter step in as the starting bigs. The surprising thing is that I think they are actually a better combo than Jefferson/Millsap. Favors should be an 18 point, 10 rebound, and 2 block player this season. His price is still very affordable across the board so take him at this price while you can. He faces the Suns tonight who are undersized down low.
- Enes Kanter – He is cheap across the board and factoring in price, is actually my favorite play of the two. Kanter has been at the top of the league in rebounds per minute every since he entered the NBA. He’s a great hustle player that is usually pretty good about staying out of foul trouble. I like the matchup against the Suns and I love the price.
Phoenix
The Suns have a couple of new starters this season in Bledsoe and Plumlee and will get back Markieff Morris tonight after he served his one-game suspension. Morris should step in as the starting PF over Channing Frye. One name that you have probably heard a lot of over the last couple of days is Miles Plumlee, he had a huge game the other night and too many people are overreacting. I think he is a nice young player, but he has a tough matchup against Kanter and I’m not using him tonight unless he is minimum salary.
Players to Target
- Eric Bledsoe – Bledsoe has been waiting for a chance to start for a couple of years now. While he’s not technically the starting PG, both he and Dragic both play the position when they are on the floor. Bledsoe looked great in his first game with over 35 fantasy points. He’s my favorite play on the Suns tonight.
L.A.Clippers at Sacramento
| L.A.Clippers | Sacramento | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 196.0 |  | Vegas | 196.0 | |||||||
| Spread | -3.5 | Spread | 3.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.56 | Pace | 96.34 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 29 | 28 | 27 | 28 | 26 | Season | 2 | 14 | 13 | 8 | 4 | |
| Last10 | 20 | 25 | 29 | 16 | 27 | Last10 | 7 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 20 | |
| Paul-Redick-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan | Vasquez-Thornton-Salmons-Patterson-Cousins | |||||||||||
L.A.Clippers
Chris Paul is playing like an MVP right now. Granted it’s only been two games, but he is averaging 28 points and 13 assists. A lot of people expected him to have a big year with Doc as his head coach and from the looks of it they were spot on. Doc even has DeAndre Jordan playing some great basketball. While both of those players are good options again tonight against the awful defense of the Kings, I’m targeting Mr. Kia.
Players to Target
- Blake Griffin – Griff doesn’t look like he’s worked on his free throw shooting, but that’s just fine as long as he is getting dunk after dunk. Tonight’s game against the Kings fits his style of play perfectly and I’m expecting a big night from him. With CP3’s price tag so high, Griffin is the way to go.
Sacramento
The Kings have a lofty goal this season: to turn DeMarcus Cousins into a consistent threat night in and night out. He looked good in their opener, but you always have to be a bit skeptical with Cousins. Over the years, he has gotten kicked out of games, committed terrible fouls, and checked out mentally on more than one occasion. DeAndre Jordan is one of the best defending centers in basketball so this could be a tough spot for Cousins. I’m avoiding him in cash games tonight and am fading the rest of the Kings in all games.
San Antonio at L.A.Lakers
| San Antonio | L.A.Lakers | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts |  | Vegas | |||||||||
| Spread | Spread | |||||||||||
| Pace | 96.36 | Pace | 96.78 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 30 | 27 | 18 | 17 | 12 | Season | 11 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 19 | |
| Last10 | 30 | 27 | 7 | 25 | 1 | Last10 | 4 | 26 | 5 | 14 | 16 | |
| Parker-Green-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter | Blake-Meeks-Young-Williams-Gasol | |||||||||||
San Antonio
Last game of the night features two of the West’s best teams over the last 10 years, but both are on the downswing. Well I won’t say that for the Spurs because you can never count out a Popovich team. It looks like Tim Duncan has already been ruled out of tonight’s game so Boris Diaw will get the start. Am I pulling the trigger on Diaw? Most likely not, but he is a decent tournament play. I also think that Tony Parker makes a good play against Nash and this bad Lakers defense.
Players to Target
- Kawhi Leonard – Leonard is one my favorite young players. He just makes everything look so easy. I love the matchup for him against the Lakers, he should be able to make plays on both ends of the floor and really give fits to either Nick Young or Steve Blake.
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers starters have yet to see the 4th quarter. In their first game, the bench took over and played the whole 4th and in their second game, they were down by 30 at that point so the bench played the whole 4th again. I’m expecting that to change tonight though, it should be a close game especially factoring in the injury to Tim Duncan.
Players to Target
- Pau Gasol – I think people will be scared to take Pau tonight because his numbers haven’t been there in the first two games, but he’s only averaged 23 minutes in those games. On any normal night, Pau is going to get around 35. With no Duncan in the middle, I think Pau has a monster game. He could be the difference maker in your leagues tonight.