NBA Daily Grind Down: Tuesday 3/12

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-12 19:09:50

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.

The DSBBC officially starts tonight so good luck to all of the Grinders in the Championship, let’s make the basketball finals a sweep for us Grinders! Tonight is an usually busy Tuesday night, but hey no complaints here. That just means more numbers to crunch and more matchups to exploit. Check out tonight’s top plays:

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.

Washington @ Cleveland – 7:00 pm EDT

• The Wizards have been solid against SF’s and Centers recently which makes sense because Ariza has been playing a lot lately and Okafor is a good defender. Players to target tonight for the Cavs are Shaun Livingston and Dion Waiters. They will both get extra minutes and shots with Kyrie out of the lineup.
• Cleveland leaves us with plenty of favorable matchups, but I think John Wall and Nene Hilario get the edge tonight. Wall has been pretty consistent lately and should put up some nice numbers and Nene gives you great upside for the price you are paying.

L.A.Lakers @ Orlando – 7:00 pm EDT

• When you play against the Lakers, all positions have good matchups except for Center. It’s pretty simple. I think Jameer Nelson could have a big game and could be a good play as long as his price hasn’t climbed up too high. Aaron Afflalo will also get some big minutes tonight trying to guard Kobe so I think he should make his value fairly easy as well.
• For the Lakers, Dwight takes his first trip back to Orlando! And his matchup couldn’t be much better. Orlando has been terrible against Centers all season long and Dwight is coming off of arguably his best two game stretch this season. I think he dominates Orlando tonight, but don’t take him if he is too expensive. Expect around 40 fantasy points. Other than Dwight, Kobe and Nash both make decent plays.

Boston @ Charlotte – 7:00 pm EDT

• Boston isn’t an elite defensive team anymore, but they can still lock teams down, especially teams like the Bobcats who can’t seem to score if their lives depended on it. For my money, I am going to spend it on non-Bobcat players, but if you have to take one of them, Ben Gordon should get some extra run with Sessions out.
• Charlotte is really bad defensively, the problem is that they have been getting blown out by so much that it’s hard to take anyone against them. That said, you have to love the matchups for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, although it sounds like Pierce may get a day off.

Atlanta @ Miami – 7:30 pm EDT

• Atlanta’s defense has been better of late but I highly doubt that they can stop the Heat from scoring a bunch of points. Lebron James has had a couple of down games which actually makes him more affordable on some sites. He is worth a shot if you can find some good sleeper picks today.
• The Heat are good defensively, but Al Horford went big against them last time these teams met. I wouldn’t overpay for Horford, but if you can get him at a fairly reasonable price, he could be a great play. I could see a guy like Kyle Korver having a good night in this spot as well.

New Orleans @ Brooklyn – 7:30 pm EDT

• Battle of the Lopez brothers tonight. The Hornets struggle against SG, SF, and Center. I think Joe Johnson could have a nice night as he usually plays much better at home. Brook Lopez went for 42 fantasy points last time around against his brother and no reason why he shouldn’t have a good night again.
• For the Nets, they have great season rankings, but have been struggling a little bit lately. The only guys I would take a shot on for the Hornets are Greivis Vasquez and Robin Lopez. While Robin hasn’t been playing very good, he did have 27 fantasy points against the Nets last time.

Dallas @ Milwaukee – 8:00 pm EDT

• Dallas’ defense has plenty of holes in it, the problem is that we don’t know which Bucks players are going to be playing tonight. Sanders and Ilyasova are both questionable so make sure to watch their status and update your lineups accordingly. Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings have both been playing great basketball lately and it’s a toss up as to which makes the better play.
• Milwaukee is not a good defensive team, especially against opposing big men. While I love the matchup for Kaman, he just doesn’t play enough for me to take a gamble on him. I would rather take Dirk Nowitzki or O.J. Mayo in this one.

San Antonio @ Minnesota – 8:00 pm EDT

• We are seeing a whole new Pop, both Duncan and Leonard are already ruled out which certainly helps the T-Wolves chances in this one. I wouldn’t try to get too creative here, but both Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams could be in line for nice games.
• With Duncan, Leonard, and Parker all out tonight, that opens up some big minutes for the other Spurs players. You have to love the matchup for Tiago Splitter and Danny Green and as long as Manu Ginobili gets decent minutes, he should have a nice game as well.

Memphis @ Portland – 10:00 pm EDT

• These two teams played a little while ago in Memphis and Portland came out on top. Memphis is solid all around on defense and it’s hard to trust any of the Portland guys. Maybe take a shot on Aldridge or Batum in a GPP, but I wouldn’t take them across the board.
• For the Grizzlies, Zach Randolph should be back tonight so Ed Davis and Marc Gasol both lose value. Mike Conley makes an interesting play though, he had 36 against them in the last one.

As always, thanks for reading! If you have any lineup questions or strategy advice, shoot me a message or leave a comment and I am happy to help!