NBA Daily Grind Down: Monday 3/11

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-11 15:49:30

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.

After an amazing weekend in Vegas for the DFBBC, I am back and glad that we have a short schedule of games tonight. Tonight’s games feature some defenses that are below average so I expect a fairly high scoring night tonight. Stephen Curry gets the nod as the play of the day as he went for 54 the last time he faced the Knicks:

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.

Brooklyn @ Philadelphia – 7:00 pm EDT

• Brooklyn has good season rankings, but have been struggling to stop teams recently. I think Jrue Holiday has a good matchup tonight going up against D-Will at home. Spencer Hawes is also worth a look as he has had 5 straight games of at least 23 fantasy points. At this point I would stay away from Evan Turner, but if you can get a bargain on Damien Wilkins, he has averaged over 20 FP’s in his last 3 games.
• Philly really struggles to defend the PG and Center positions, which just so happen to be the positions that the best two Nets players are. Deron Williams and Brook Lopez both get a bump in value thanks to their matchups, but if I had to pick one, I would go with D-Will.

Oklahoma City @ San Antonio – 8:30 pm EDT

• I usually tend to stay away from Spurs games in general, but on a short night that might not be possible. The Thunder have a pretty average defense because they push the tempo so much. I think this benefits the wings of the Spurs, especially Kawhi Leonard. He will get a ton of minutes tonight guarding Durant and he can do so much on the floor that I think he will post a solid stat line. Manu Ginobili is another guy that could have a big game with Tony P still being out.
• The Spurs have a pretty solid defense, but normally when these two teams meet up, they are usually fairly high scoring. I like Kevin Durant in this one, especially on FD where their salary is capped. Russell Westbrook should also have a plus matchup with no Tony Parker in the mix. Look for him to break out of his mini slump and have a big game.

Detroit @ Utah – 9:00 pm EDT

• This game is interesting to me because it could be a blowout as the Jazz are a great team at home, but they just can’t seem to get a win lately. I am going to just hope that the game stays fairly close. That being said, the Pistons really struggle to defend Centers which makes Big Al Jefferson a solid play. Paul Millsap injury could also help out both Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter so make sure to check his status closer to tip off. I still don’t trust Mo Williams yet, so maybe stay clear of him unless you can get him for dirt cheap.
• The Jazz struggle with PF’s and PG’s. The problem is that we don’t know if Millsap is playing and both Favors and Kanter are better defenders than Millsap, so that PF ranking might not mean much tonight. If I’m taking anyone from the Pistons, it’s going to be Jose Calderon. Mo Williams is just not a very good defender and Calderon should be able to take advantage of that.

Denver @ Phoenix – 10:00 pm EDT

• Denver has really improved their defensive rankings lately, but then again, they only have two rankings that are better than average. For the Suns, it’s hard not to like Goran Dragic and Luis Scola tonight. Dragic will get his mniutes, and even though Scola got benched for Haddadi last game, I expect him to get off to a hot start and play some big minutes in this one.
• Phoenix has a pretty average defense so with the Nuggets tonight, it’s going to be about finding value. Ty Lawson is really playing well right now and makes a good play. After Lawson though, it’s pretty tough because Iguodala struggles on the road, Gallinari has been pretty cold lately, and you don’t know what’s going to happen with the Nugget’s Centers night in and night out.

New York @ Golden State – 10:30 pm EDT

• Still no word on Carmelo Anthony status tonight and with this being a late tipoff, we might not find out before leagues lock. That being said, I still think this should be a pretty close game even if Melo sits. For the Warriors, you have to love Stephen Curry in this one. He went for 54 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds when he faced them only a couple of weeks ago and Felton’s defense hasn’t gotten much better since then. Keep updated on David Lee status for tonight, if he can’t go, Carl Landry makes a great play.
• For the Knicks it really depends on if Melo is playing. If he is out tonight, J.R. Smith, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin all get a major bump in value. Hopefully we will find out before the first game tips off, but if not, I would probably play it safe and maybe only play Felton or J.R.