NBA Daily Grind Down: Tuesday 4/9

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-04-09 19:54:30

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 a nice day off from fantasy basketball, it’s time to get back to the grind tonight. We only have a couple weeks left of the regular season and once we hit the last week, there are going to be plenty of games that don’t matter. Now’s the time to get your daily fantasy basketball fix in before it gets to a point where you have to play all scrubs. Check out today’s Grind Down:

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.

Cleveland @ Indiana – 7:00 pm EDT

• At this point in the season, it is no secret that the Cavs aren’t very good defensively. They are also not very good period. A trip to Indiana is tough sledding and this one could be a blowout fairly quickly. However, if you think this one will stay fairly close, there are positive matchups for both Paul George and David West.
• It is also no secret that the Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the league. I typically don’t like to play anyone on the Cavs outside of Kyrie Irving and his matchup is not a good one. Stay away from the Cavs today.

Milwaukee @ Miami – 7:30 pm EDT

• The Bucks have actually played the Heat fairly well this year and the possibility that the Heat may be resting their stars once again is even more good news for the Bucks. On the Heat side, it’s hard to make any recommendations until we find out who is actually going to be playing, so check back later for an update.
• The Heat have been very good defensively with rankings in the top 11 against every position. However, many of the players that actually helped get those rankings may not be on the floor tonight. If the Heat do rest some of their stars, I like both Monta Ellis and Ersan Ilyasova in this one. Sova has had a couple of down games which should be good for his price and Monta is a guy that can do everything.

Philadelphia @ Brooklyn – 7:30 pm EDT

• Philly has been the model of inconsistency this year and you can tell that just from looking at their defensive rankings. None of their season long ranking match the rankings from the last 10 games. Basically, they are an average defense. Deron Williams and Brook Lopez are the guys to target for the Nets today, both have the matchup and have been playing well.
• The Nets have been struggling against PG’s and SG’s recently but with Joe Johnson back, their SG ranking should get much better. Jrue Holiday could be a very nice play though, he has been very cheap for his standards recently and has the potential to top 40 fantasy points.

Washington @ New York – 7:30 pm EDT

• The Wizards have really improved their defense over the last month or so as you can see by their red rankings. While they have been struggling against PGs, Raymond Felton is rarely a good play these days and I don’t think he has that much upside. Maybe take a shot on Carmelo Anthony though, he has been on fire and good offense always beats good defense.
• For the Knicks, there have way too many red rankings and #1 rankings for me to like taking anyone against them. They cooled down Ilyasova who has been on fire lately and I think they will cool down the Wizards too.

Toronto @ Chicago – 8:00 pm EDT

• Toronto makes it simple for us, they struggle against SG’s and Centers. But for the Bulls, if they have Marco Belinelli and Joakim Noah back, then it really hurts the value of the other players who have been getting a ton of minutes. Before taking any of the Bulls today, wait for an update on their injuries.
• The Bulls have a really good defense, especially when Noah is playing. If he plays again tonight, then I’m not too high on any of the Raptors, but if he sits out, I really like the matchup for Jonas Valanciunas.

Phoenix @ Houston – 8:00 pm EDT

• This should be a high scoring game, the problem is that it may be a little too high scoring for the Rockets and it could turn into all of the starters sitting out the whole 4th quarter. The Suns are really bad defensively though, so if you think it can stay close, then James Harden is a great play. I also like Omer Asik against the very short-handed frontcourt of the Suns.
• Again, this game could be fantasy gold if it stays close. Goran Dragic is the guy to take on the Suns. While he is very inconsistent, he has big upside in this game.

Charlotte @ Memphis – 8:00 pm EDT

• Lot of potential blowouts today. Charlotte at Memphis might be the worst one. I am going to do the smart thing and just stay away from everyone in this game.

Oklahoma City @ Utah – 9:00 pm EDT

• Finally we have a game that means something! The Thunder have a very good defense, but the Jazz are in a must win situation and always seem to play well at home. Al Jefferson is a guy that is going to get you 30+ fantasy points. He is a safe bet at Center, something that is hard to find these days. I also like the matchup for Gordon Hayward, he could be a good sneaky pick at SG.
• The Jazz really struggle against PG’s and Mo Williams gets beat off the dribble all of the time. Look for Russell Westbrook to have a monster game for the Thunder. I think Durant will also play well, but dollar for dollar, Westbrook has much better value tonight.

Minnesota @ Golden State – 10:30 pm EDT

• The T-Wolves are finally looking healthy and they have been playing some good ball lately. I think that this game stays close which is good news for both sides. For the Warriors, Stephen Curry draws a fantastic matchup against Ricky Rubio as does Klay Thompson against the much smaller Luke Ridnour.
• The Warriors guard Centers well and that’s about it. Tough to take Pekovic today because of his price and his matchup. Ricky Rubio is a solid pick though. Stephen Curry doesn’t play a whole lot of defense and I think we see a little bit more aggressive Rubio than we are used to. I also like Andrei Kirilenko, he has been playing well and flying under the radar.

New Orleans @ L.A.Lakers – 10:30 pm EDT

• The Hornets have been playing good defense, but they are not going to stop this Lakers offense that is in a must win situation. Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant are both excellent plays tonight and I expect them both to get around 40 fantasy points.
• For the Hornets, Greivis Vasquez makes a very good play. He won’t get the matchup against Steve Nash, but Steve Blake isn’t exactly a lock down defender either. I don’t love Anthony Davis or Robin Lopez in this one, I think they will be severely outplayed by the Laker bigs.