NBA Daily Grind Down: Tuesday 3/19

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-19 16:13:12

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.

Only 4 games on tap Tuesday night which means it is going to be slim pickings at each position. There are also a couple of possible blowouts so be prepared for a very interesting night of fantasy basketball. Today’s Grind Down curse is going to be placed upon Chris Paul. He has arguably the best matchup on the board going against the Kings.

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.

Orlando @ Indiana – 7:00 pm EDT

• This game has blowout written all over it, but the good news for us is that Indiana played last night and might not be as sharp as usual. Taking a look at the Magic’s defense, you can see that they are pretty average at defending every position and really bad at defending Centers. Guys to take from Indiana are going to depend on whether or not David West is back. If he is still out, you have to take Tyler Hansborough and it gives a bump to both Paul George and Roy Hibbert as well. If West plays, you might want to stay away from all of them.
• For the Pacers, they are really good defensively. Red rankings all over the place are never a good sign for the opposing team. There just isn’t much to like about the Magic tonight unless you want to take a flier on a guy like Maurice Harkless who can put up big games here and there.

Portland @ Milwaukee – 8:00 pm EDT

• A lot of matchups to like when a team faces Portland, they are below average against every position and the fact that Mbah a Moute and Ersan Ilyasova might both be out really helps the fantasy value of some other players. Look for Larry Sanders, Mike Dunleavy, and Marquis Daniels to all see a bump in playing time and both Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings both make good plays too. Not a bad spot to load up players from the Bucks with only 4 games tonight.
• Milwaukee is another team that is below average defensively, but their main weakness is defending Centers. When Milwaukee plays, it is usually a for sure thing to take the Center against them, but in this case I am not so sure. I hate the inconsistency of J.J. Hickson and his numbers on the road are a lot worst than his numbers at home. I would rather pay the premium and take LeMarcus Aldridge who has been on fire lately. This is also a game that I could see Nicolas Batum coming up big, but he is another guy that struggles on the road.

Denver @ Oklahoma City – 8:00 pm EDT

• This game would usually be a fairly close one, but the Nuggets played last night in Chicago and I have a feeling that they won’t be able to keep up with the Nuggets. Denver’s defense is bad already and the fact that they played last night only helps OKC’s players. Look for both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to have big games and I wouldn’t mind Kendrick Perkins if he is cheap enough. Just remember that this one has the potential for a blowout.
• OKC has really improved their defensive rankings and now rank in the top 10 against PG, PF, and Center. This leaves us with the options of SG and SF from the Nuggets. Andre Iguodala has great numbers against the Thunder, but I think tonight I would rather take Danilo Gallinari. He is finally getting his shot back and is a bit cheaper than usual. I would stay away from Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried in this one.

L.A.Clippers @ Sacramento – 10:00 pm EDT

• The Clippers have a very good defense, but I think that there are still some options on the Kings, especially if we find out if DeMarcus Cousins and/or Tyreke Evans are out tonight. If either of them are out, Patrick Patterson, Jason Thompson, John Salmons, Marcus Thornton, and Isaiah Thomas will all get a boost and are all cheap enough that they would make decent plays.
• The Kings defense is one of the worst and you have to love both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin tonight. I give a slight edge to Paul just because he is the PG and will have the ball the entire game. Other than those two, it’s hard to trust any other players.