NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, November 5th - Page Three
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Denver at Sacramento
- Vegas Line – Sacramento -3.5, 202 Over/Under
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Afflalo-Chandler-Faried-Mozgov
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Collison-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Cousins
| Denver | Sacramento | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 202 |  | Vegas Total | 202 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 3.5 | Vegas Sprd | -3.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 99.25 | Team Proj. | 102.75 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 101.77 | Team Pace | 99.65 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Ty Lawson | Arron Afflalo | Wilson Chandler | Kenneth Faried | Timofey Mozgov | Proj Starter | Darren Collison | Ben McLemore | Rudy Gay | Jason Thompson | DeMarcus Cousins | |
| Opp. Season | 26 | 4 | 15 | 9 | 25 | Opp. Season | 13 | 2 | 27 | 27 | 18 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 26 | 4 | 15 | 22 | 25 | Opp. Last 7 | 13 | 2 | 27 | 4 | 18 | |
Denver
The Nuggets and Kings faced each other on Monday night and now get a re-match, only this time the game will be played in Sacramento. These are two of the fastest-paced teams in the league and once again, I am surprised that the total is only set at 202 points. These teams combined for 215 points in their last meeting and I’m expecting a similar result tonight.
Prime Plays
Ty Lawson – Lawson struggled in the opener, but has bounced back nicely over the last two games averaging 17 points, 8 assists, and 2 rebounds. He will likely be a popular play at PG tonight considering the expected pace of play and the fact that the Kings have allowed the fifth most fantasy points to opposing PGs this season.
Secondary Plays
Kenneth Faried – Faried’s home/away splits are worth monitoring this season as his numbers were much better across the board at home last year. Faried has 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists against this team on Monday night and makes for a good upside play in tournaments.
Sacramento
You can throw out most of the Kings’ stats from Monday night’s game as it was the second game of a back-to-back and Coach Mike Malone decided to limit both Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins’ minutes. They should both get back to seeing a full complement of minutes tonight against the Nuggets. Once again, the big three of Cousins, Gay, and Collison are in play, while the rest of the Kings can be ignored for our purposes.
Prime Plays
DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins only played 25 minutes against the Nuggets on Monday, but he still finished with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Cousins can be a tough player to trust in cash games due to his inconsistent play, but the matchup against the Denver bigs is just too good to ignore. Cousins has more upside than any center in the NBA and the Nuggets have allowed the sixth most fantasy points to opposing centers this season.
Rudy Gay – Gay, like Cousins, saw limited minutes on Monday night. He finished the game with 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in only played 23 minutes. The good news is that he should see a full complement of minutes tonight in what should be a high scoring game against the Nuggets.
Secondary Plays
Darren Collison – Collison has really played well in the Kings’ offense. Through the first four games, he is averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. Collison put up 36 fantasy points (FD scoring) against the Nuggets on Monday night and should be able to replicate that again tonight.
L.A. Clippers at Golden State
- Vegas Line – Golden State -4.5, 208 Over/Under
- L.A. Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Green-Bogut
| L.A. Clippers | Golden State | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 208 |  | Vegas Total | 208 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 4.50 | Vegas Sprd | -4.50 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 101.75 | Team Proj. | 106.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 96.56 | Team Pace | 102.87 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Chris Paul | J.J. Redick | Matt Barnes | Blake Griffin | DeAndre Jordan | Proj Starter | Stephen Curry | Klay Thompson | Harrison Barnes | Draymond Green | Andrew Bogut | |
| Opp. Season | 11 | 6 | 6 | 28 | 3 | Opp. Season | 5 | 20 | 12 | 17 | 15 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | Opp. Last 7 | 5 | 20 | 12 | 14 | 15 | |
L.A. Clippers
The Clippers head to Oakland to take on the Warriors in what should be one of the best games of the night. These are two up and coming teams in the Western Conference that are both looking to take that next step this season. Both of these teams like to push the pace and it’s no surprise that this game has the highest total of the night. While the Warriors have been very good defensively this season, there are a couple of players that stand out for the Clip Show.
Prime Plays
Chris Paul – Paul typically plays up to his competition. He loves to face elite PGs as he is always trying to prove that he’s still the best PG in the NBA. In three meeting against the Warriors last season, Paul averaged 28 points, 13 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals per game.
Blake Griffin – It’s hard to find a knock against Griffin this season. He is playing 38 minutes per game while averaging 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. It sounds like David Lee will be back for the Warriors tonight which actually helps Griffin’s fantasy appeal as Lee is not a great defender.
Secondary Plays
NONE
Golden State
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the final team of the night. What a long, strange journey it’s been. The Warriors are 4.5-point favorites tonight in what will likely be one of the highest scoring games of the evening. David Lee is expected to be back tonight, but it sounds like he may come off the bench. It may be best to avoid both of these players until we get a better picture of the minutes distribution.
Prime Plays
Klay Thompson – If you aren’t sold on Thompson yet, do yourself a favor and watch tonight’s game against the Clippers. There is a reason that the Warriors wouldn’t part ways with him when they were discussing a trade for Kevin Love. In the first three games of the season, Thompson is averaging 30 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. He’s the real deal. I have a hard time seeing J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford slowing him down tonight.
Secondary Plays
Stephen Curry – While I love Curry’s game, I don’t necessarily love the matchup. The Clippers are one of the stingiest teams against opposing PGs thanks to the ferocious defense of Chris Paul. Paul is the better play of the two PGs in this matchup, but don’t count out Curry completely as he makes a nice tournament play.