NBA Daily Grind Down & Daily Plays: Tuesday 4/16

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-05-02 23:46:18

The RotoGrinders NBA Grind Down article will give you an in-depth analysis into the NBA schedule each night. This article will break down the defense vs. position rankings for every single game and give you analysis on where you can exploit these matchups.

While matchups are a major factor in daily fantasy basketball, there are plenty of other factors to consider such as injuries, minutes, and salaries. The analysis should point you in the right direction, but it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections.

Relatively quiet night on the NBA schedule and after the terrible events in Boston yesterday, the Celtics game has been canceled which lightens the schedule even more. With only two games to be played, we thought we would combine the two NBA articles into one and cover all of the bases here.

NOTES:

1) Defense vs. Position rankings are how well a team defends against a certain position. The ranking is for the team that it is listed under, NOT the opponent.
2) Rankings are as follows: 30 is the worst defense against a position, 1 is the best.
3) Last 10 Game Data is collected at the start of each week. It will be updated each Sunday for the upcoming week.

Toronto @ Atlanta – 7:30 pm EDT

Toronto

Rudy Gay – Rudy has had back to back monster fantasy performances. At this point in the season, the Raptors are playing their franchise player all the minutes he can handle. I like his matchup tonight against the Hawks even though they do have good rankings against SF’s. Gay’s value gets an extra bump tonight if Jonas Valanciunas is out again as Gay will play more PF and have to rebound more.

Amir Johnson – Amir can certainly be a frustrating fantasy player due to how up and down he is. But with the limited options at Center today and the fact that Valanciunas may be out again, I think Amir is a solid play once again. He has been playing around 40 minutes in each of his last 3 games.

Atlanta

Josh Smith – Smoove has been a little banged up recently, but I expect him to play through it again tonight as the Hawks need a win to stay a game ahead of the Bulls. Smith has had two monster games in a row and should find success against a Raptors team that doesn’t defend big men very well.

Al Horford – As much as I like Smoove tonight, I am going to give a slight edge to Horford, especially if Valanciunas is out. Horford put up 18 and 17 in his last game and if this game stays close, I think he puts up a similar stat line tonight.

Portland @ L.A.Clippers – 10:30 pm EDT

Portland

Damian Lillard – Plenty of injuries to go around for the Blazers, Batum has been ruled out for the season and both Wesley Matthews and LaMarcus Aldridge are questionable for tonight’s game. Look for Lillard to be the safest pick you can find on the Blazers tonight, especially if you find out that either Matthews or Aldridge are going to be out.

Will Barton – Barton has really done a nice job filling in for Batum, including a 50 fantasy point night a few games ago. He has scored over 20 fantasy points in 4 of his last 5 games and is a great play tonight even though the matchup isn’t the best.

L.A. Clippers

Blake Griffin – I didn’t go with Chris Paul here just because he is so expensive and I think he is going to try to get everyone involved instead of trying to take over. While Griffin has been a bit down lately, I think he is a solid option against the Blazers, especially if we find out that Aldridge isn’t going to play. Don’t expect a huge night, but I think you can count on him for 30+ fantasy points.

DeAndre Jordan – DeAndre has really gotten a big boost over the last month or so and has actually become playable in the fantasy world. I love the matchup for him tonight against Hickson. I think he picks up double digit rebounds and gets enough dunks to make it double digit points as well.