NBA Daily Grind Down: Wednesday 3/13

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-13 22:05:40

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 rather strange night fantasy wise in the NBA, we have another full slate of games tonight. It is day 2 of the DSBBC so good luck to all of the Grinders still in it. An all Grinders final would be sweet. Today’s Grind Down features plenty of good matchups and a few that have the revenge factor including today’s headliner, Ty Lawson.

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.

Minnesota @ Indiana – 7:00 pm EDT

• Minnesota has really been struggling lately and they are playing in a back to back situation. While there are some good matchups for the Pacers, this one could be a blowout and you could end up with the starters sitting out the whole 4th quarter. George Hill, Paul George, and Roy Hibbert have the best matchups, so it’s going to be up to you to decide if you are willing to deal with the blowout risk.
• Indiana is very solid defensively and again the T-Wolves are playing a back to back. With so many options available today, I would say to stay clear of the T-Wolves unless Ricky Rubio is extremely underpriced.

Miami @ Philadelphia – 7:00 pm EDT

• Miami is also in a back to back situation this one could be a little bit closer than you would originally think. For the Sixers, I think Jrue Holiday makes a decent play, he has averaged 30 FP’s against the Heat this year and tends to play much better at home. Spencer Hawes is on a tear right now, so if you can get him for pretty cheap, he doesn’t make a bad play either.
• Philly really struggles against PG’s and Centers but you can never really trust Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh has only averaged 19 FP’s against the Sixers in their last two meetings. I think Lebron James steals the show in this one and puts up a big game after he has put up a few duds (for his standards anyway). He only played 30 minutes in the blowout win last night and should be fresh in this one.

Milwaukee @ Washington – 7:00 pm EDT

• Milwaukee’s defense has been downright ugly in their last 10 games with the exception of SF. Plenty of matchups to like for the Wizards tonight. We will start with John Wall, he is coming off of a monster game last night and appears to be in a groove right now. Also, both big men, Emeka Okafor and Nene Hilario should have solid games as the Bucks interior defense is nowhere to be seen. Sanders can block shots, but he sure gives up a lot of fantasy points.
• Washington has been pretty average defensively and really the only position I wouldn’t take against them is Center. Both Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings are playing well right now and should get some easy buckets on the Wizard guards, especially if Trevor Ariza sits this one out. Also, if Mike Dunleavy gets the start again, I like him to get 20+ fantasy points so keep your eye out for that.

L.A.Lakers @ Atlanta – 7:30 pm EDT

• Both teams played last night and will likely have tired legs which means this could be an all offensive game tonight. The Lakers defense is bad already and I love the matchups for both Jeff Teague and Josh Smith. While they are both very inconsistent, they also both have huge upside, especially in a high scoring game like this one. Teague did get a little banged up last night though so make sure to check on his status closer to tip off.
• Atlanta has really picked up their defense and even though Dwight Howard is on an absolute tear right now, I am going to take my chances without him tonight. Al Horford is a much better defender than Vucevic and Dwight can’t continue that free throw shooting. You can take Kobe Bryant for about the same price tonight and I think he will have a better game.

Toronto @ Boston – 7:30 pm EDT

• Toronto has been pretty good on defense lately and will likely have Rudy Gay back tonight. If Gay sits out again, Paul Pierce gets a major boost because he will be rested and ready to go, the only problem is that Gay is a great defender so make sure to take that into account. Not much to love for the rest of the Celtics, Kevin Garnett is coming off of a terrible game and could bounce back, but with so many options, I wouldn’t take my chances with him.
• Boston got blown out by Charlotte last night. I know they didn’t have Pierce, but come on, Charlotte? Their defensive rankings don’t have many holes, but with Bargnani out again it gives a boost to both Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas.

Phoenix @ Houston – 8:00 pm EDT

• These two teams just played the other night. Phoenix really struggled to contain James Harden and I expect that to be the case again tonight. I also like the value Omer Asik gives you tonight because it looks like O’Neal will be back and starting and I think he is the perfect matchup for Asik.
• As far as Houston’s defense goes, they aren’t very good against any particular position so the thing you want to focus on here is minutes played by the Suns players. The problem is that the Suns coach has a different split of minutes every single game. I would maybe take Goran Dragic and maybe take a sleeper pick on Jermaine O’Neal if he gets the start.

Utah @ Oklahoma City – 8:00 pm EDT

• The Jazz really struggle on the road and I expect this one to be over fairly quickly, especially if Millsap is out again. This is another one of those games where you have to worry about a blowout, so it’s really up to you to determine if you are willing to risk it. Both Westbrook and Durant have good matchups but may not get to play the whole game.
• On the other side of the ball, it’s always hard to take players from a team when they are expected to get blown out. The only guys I would take a chance on here are Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter but it sounds like Millsap is going to play, so I would just avoid the Jazz tonight.

Chicago @ Sacramento – 10:00 pm EDT

• Vegas has this one as a pretty close high scoring game which is unusual for the Bulls. The Bulls defense is pretty solid, but the Kings play much better at home and will have to play some good team basketball to keep this one close. I am assuming that Cousins is going to get suspended for tonight’s game and if he does both Jason Thompson and Patrick Patterson are strong plays. Isaiah Thomas also has a solid matchup against Nate Rob in the battle of the small guys.
• For the Bulls, there are matchups a plenty. Joakim Noah should have a field day on defense is Cousins is suspended, Carlos Boozer should get a ton of open looks on offense, Luol Deng should fill up the stat sheet, and Nate Robinson should have another solid game. Really no bad options here, especially since it should be a close game.

New York @ Denver – 10:30 pm EDT

• New York has been really bad against PG’s lately and I expect Ty Lawson to have a little something extra to prove in this one and he was the backup to Felton when Felton was in Denver. Look for Lawson to easily top 30 fantasy points.
• Denver struggles against all positions except for shooting guard and that is because Iguodala generally defends the other teams SG’s. I expect him to guard Carmelo Anthony tonight which is a tough matchup both ways. I still expect Melo to have a solid game though, especially going back to Denver.

Detroit @ Golden State – 10:30 pm EDT

• The Pistons are not playing very good basketball right now. They are really struggling on both ends of the floor and will likely be without their best defender in Brandon Knight. I expect both Stephen Curry and David Lee to play well.
• For the Pistons, you might be able to take a couple of guys here. They are a little risky as this one could be a blowout, but they could be a gamble worth taking. First up is Rodney Stuckey, he will likely get the start tonight if Knight is out. Next up is Greg Monroe, he hasn’t been playing great lately so you can get him a little cheaper than usual.

Memphis @ L.A.Clippers – 10:30 pm EDT

• Rematch of last year’s first round in the playoffs. While Memphis is a very solid defensive team, they did play last night and it’s hard for any defense to stop Chris Paul or Blake Griffin. Depending on their price today, they should be on your radar.
• The Clippers are also pretty good defensively and I don’t really love any of the Grizzlies tonight. Mike Conley will be locked up against Paul and Zach Randolph against Griffin.

As always, thanks for reading and if you have any questions I am happy to help!