NBA Daily Grind Down: Monday 3/4

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-04 20:46:55

The RotoGrinders NBA Grind Down article is going to 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 position and give analysis on where you can exploit these matchups. Always remember that a great matchup doesn’t always translate into a great fantasy performance and while the analysis should point you in the right direction most of the time, it is still up to you to decipher the information and make your own selections.

Mondays always seem to be a good day for fantasy basketball. We get to start a new week with 8 games on the schedule tonight that includes a couple of the worst defenses in the league. While there are plenty of good matchups to look at, today’s Grind Down is headlined by Greivis Vasquez.

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.

New York @ Cleveland – 7:00 pm EST

• New York used to be solid against opposing PG’s, but it appears that All-Star break didn’t treat Raymond Felton defense all that well. They are ranked dead last against PG’s in their last 10 games which should be good news for the starting PG of the Cavs. It sounds like Kyrie Irving is expected to play tonight, but you never know if the injury will linger or if he will be on a minutes restriction. Also for the Cavs, it looks like both Tyler Zeller and Dion Waiters are questionable tonight, so keep your eye on that.
• The Cavs can’t seem to defend any positions other than Centers. This leaves the Knicks with plenty of favorable matchups tonight. My favorite matchups are for Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton. They both should be able to find success against a weak Cavs defense.

Orlando @ New Orleans – 8:00 pm EST

• Orlando’s defensive rankings are all over the board. Not one of their positional rankings have the same color for the season and the last 10 games. This is likely due to the fact that the Magic are constantly changing their roster. However, two common themes in these rankings are that the Magic seem to struggle against PG’s and Centers. You have to love the upside when you take Greivis Vasquez and everything seems to be lining up for him to have a big night tonight. Also, if you like to take some chances, Robin Lopez has a solid matchup and will likely get a boost in minutes with Jason Smith out for the season and Anthony Davis still banged up.
• The Hornet’s defense opens up some interesting opportunities for the Magic, but the truth is that it’s hard to trust anyone on the Magic outside of Aaron Afflalo. While Tobias Harris has been of fire lately, most sites have adjusted his salary so I wouldn’t recommend him unless you can still take him for cheap. Nikola Vucevic has a good matchup as well, but he has only scored over 30 fantasy points in 2 of his last 6 games.

Utah @ Milwaukee – 8:00 pm EST

• There aren’t many teams with rankings that are as easy to digest as the Utah Jazz. Their seasonal and last 10 rankings match exactly and they don’t have any rankings in the average range. They are good against SG’s, SF’s and C’s and struggle to stop PG’s and PF’s. This leaves us with Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova with the above average matchups tonight. I like both of them, however make sure to keep your eye on the injuries to Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, the Jazz are a much better team defensively with Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter on the floor so keep that in mind.
• While Larry Sanders often gets credit for being one of the best big men defenders in the league, the numbers sure don’t support this. The Bucks are ranked dead last against opposing Centers, and with Big Al ruled out already, look for both Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors to get a boost tonight. I like both of them tonight, and with Paul Millsap being listed as a game-time decision, it only helps their value.

Miami @ Minnesota – 8:00 pm EST

• Could this possibly be one of those trap games? Miami will be on the second half of a back to back after getting a big win over the Knicks last night. Now they travel to Minnesota to take on a struggling T-Wolves team? It’s very possible that this game is closer than you would think. That being said, it’s hard to recommend any Wolves outside of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams and the Heat have great rankings against those positions. Maybe take a chance on Dante Cunningham.
• The Heat have some great matchups though and without Nikola Pekovic in the lineup, the Wolves Center ranking doesn’t mean much. Chris Bosh could be a great play tonight if the price is right and if you are looking for a flier for a GPP, maybe give Mario Chalmers a shot. And as always, Lebron James is playable on sites where there is a cap on salary, but probably a bit too expensive otherwise.

Atlanta @ Denver – 9:00 pm EST

• You may want to be careful on this game. The Hawks lost a tough one in LA last night and now have to travel to Denver to play the Nuggets tonight who are a great home team. I think Vegas has this one right as the line is -10.5 for the Nuggets. While this one does have blowout potential, there are some good matchups on the board. Ty Lawson gets to face the 24th ranked team against PG’s and could be a great play.
• For the Hawks, Jeff Teague has a great matchup and Josh Smith does as well if he gets the start at SF again. But like I said, be a little cautious about the high Vegas line.

Charlotte @ Portland – 10:00 pm EST

• Charlotte’s defense is terrible and lately it’s offense has been just as bad. They have lost their last two games by a combined 66 points. That just shouldn’t happen in the NBA. Tonight they play the Blazers which is good news for Portland. Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and J.J. Hickson all have solid matchups but once again, watch out for another blowout.
• On the Bobcats side, it’s a big gamble taking any of their players right now, especially on the road. So why make yourself stress? Just stay away and be glad that you did so.

Toronto @ Golden State – 10:30 pm EST

• It doesn’t seem to matter who the Warriors play, they are always able to get other teams to play uptempo with them. While the Raptors have some pretty good rankings, they will likely get caught up in the scoring game just like everyone else. I love the matchups for both David Lee and Stephen Curry tonight (although Steph might be too expensive). Klay Thompson is another guy that you can get for pretty cheap but that has big upside.
• Finally, we have the Raptors. We still don’t know if Rudy Gay is going to play tonight, but I imagine that he will after sitting out with back spasms last game. I think both Kyle Lowry and Rudy Gay should have good games against this Warriors pitiful defense. Also, if Andrea Bargnani ends up sitting out tonight, that’s good news for Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas.