NBA Daily Grind Down: Wednesday 3/27

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2013-03-28 04:53:11

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.

There are big tournaments across the industry tonight, but none bigger than Draftkings Bank Shot that is giving away $50,000 to first place. There are still plenty of entries open so make sure to go and at least buy one ticket to the event. There aren’t many chances that you will have to win $50,000 in one night. Today’s Grind Down breaks down all of the matchups and can hopefully give you the edge you need in your leagues tonight.

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.

Boston @ Cleveland – 7:00 pm EDT

• The Celtics injuries are really taking a toll on their record and their defense. Without KG anchoring that defense, their really aren’t any positions that you want to avoid on the Cavs. Look for Shaun Livingston to keep playing well as the starting PG and Tristan Thompson has pretty big upside in this one. He has gone for 30+ fantasy points in two of three and should take advantage of the C’s inside.
• The Cavs are also a team that is plagued by injuries, but their defensive rankings have been consistently bad all season. The problem here is that the Celtics are in a back to back situation and Pierce could be on limited minutes just as a precaution. I do like the way Jordan Crawford has been playing and Brandon Bass is also a guy that should see plenty of minutes.

Milwaukee @ Philadelphia – 7:00 pm EDT

• The Bucks are great at defending PG’s and struggle against all other positions, especially big men. Spencer Hawes has been playing like an All-Star lately and has a dream matchup. Just make sure not to overpay for him because he has had plenty of games where he just disappears. The rest of the Sixers are pretty inconsistent, but maybe take a shot on Thaddeus Young.
• The Sixers defense is also below average. Thaddeus is a pretty good defender and should be able to lock up Ersan Ilyasova, but the rest of the Bucks are in play. Larry Sanders looks like a great play on paper as long as he doesn’t get thrown out of the game again. Both Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings give you great upside as well.

Atlanta @ Toronto – 7:00 pm EDT

• Looking at the rankings, you see that Atlanta is near the bottom of the rankings against big men over the last 10 games. I wouldn’t put too much stock into those rankings as Al Horford is a great defender and Josh Smith isn’t bad. For the Raptors, the main plays here are the guys that benefit from Rudy Gay being out. Alan Anderson and Demar Derozan seem like the most obvious candidates, but I also think Gay being out helps Kyle Lowry out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him put up a monster game tonight.
• The Raptors can’t seem to guard SG’s which tends to happen when you have a guy like Derozan that cares more about his points than anything else. However, the Hawks don’t really have a good SG or even a consistent starter at that position. Instead, look toward Josh Smith, he has been on a roll the last little while and should have a big game against the Raptors.

Orlando @ Charlotte – 7:00 pm EDT

• Positions to target against Orlando are SG, SF, and Center. That leaves us with Gerald Henderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Bismack Biyombo. None of which inspire confidence. I do however like Mr. Kemba Walker, he averages 31 fantasy points at home and has topped the 30 point mark three times in his last four games.
• When you play against Charlotte, the light is green for everyone on the court. Their defensive rankings are absolutely atrocious. Jameer Nelson, Tobias Harris, and Maurice Harkless are my favorite picks tonight on the Magic, they should all play near 40 minutes tonight against one of the worst defenses in the league.

Memphis @ New York – 7:30 pm EDT

• It’s usually not good news fantasy wise when two good defensive teams square off. This game has the lowest over/under posted for tonight’s games. Not only that, but both teams have all top 10 season long rankings against every position. Don’t try to out-think this one, just skip right over this game and be glad that you did.

L.A.Clippers @ New Orleans – 8:00 pm EDT

• The Clippers are coming off of a tough loss last night in Dallas and that could affect their play tonight. While I normally try to stay away from anyone playing the Clippers, if Greivis Vasquez is out, Brian Roberts is a great play after his huge game the other night. I also like Anthony Davis now that his price is starting to come back down to a more affordable level.
• New Orleans isn’t a great defensive team, but it’s hard to recommend anyone from the Clips tonight. I think Blake Griffin will get a full complement of minutes, but I think Del Negro is going to limit Chris Paul a bit tonight as he is banged up and played a ton of minutes last night.

Miami @ Chicago – 8:00 pm EDT

• Two more great defensive teams facing off in this one. Even though that is usually bad news, I think there are a couple of possible plays in this one. If Joakim Noah is out again, I like Taj Gibson upside, he has been playing well and the Heat’s interior defense isn’t that great. Also, I think Lebron James will have a monster game tonight, he usually always shows up big in big games and I don’t expect that to change tonight.

Indiana @ Houston – 8:00 pm EDT

• This game should be interesting. Will Indiana get caught up in an uptempo game or will they be able to slow it down and force Houston to play a half-court game? I think this game gives a bump in value to the Indiana guys and a bit of a downgrade to the Houston players. Indiana is really good defensively and I think Paul George will be able to slow down James Harden a bit. I would possibly take a chance on Omer Asik just because most of his fantasy points come on defense and from putbacks.
• On the Pacers side however, there are plenty of good plays. Paul George has been letting me down consistently lately, but you have to love his upside against the Rockets. I also think that Tyler Hansbrough will have a big game and outscore Roy Hibbert. He outworks his opponent and has a much better matchup than Hibbert. Last but not least is D.J. Augustin, but only if he is starting.

L.A.Lakers @ Minnesota – 8:00 pm EDT

• The Lakers keep losing to bad teams and they can’t seem to stop anyone defensively. I love Ricky Rubio in this one even though it is a back to back. Rubio didn’t have to play big minutes in their blowout win last night and gets to face a very old Steve Nash tonight. The rest of the Wolves are tough to predict, so unless their is a great value out there, I would stay away for the most part.
• For the Lakers tonight, I think Kobe Bryant is going to come out and have one of his best games of the season. The Lakers are struggling and Kobe is the guy that can change that. As long as he can get his teammates involved, I think Kobe tops 40 fantasy points tonight.

Washington @ Oklahoma City – 8:00 pm EDT

• The Wizards have been playing well lately, but they have to travel to OKC tonight. This one could easily turn into a blowout. I would stay away from Durant and Westbrook just because of how expensive they are, but I think Serge Ibaka could have a good game. He can get you a double double and 5 blocks any night of the week.
• OKC has a pretty solid defense for how many points they score. I would just avoid the Wizards tonight unless half of the team is out with injuries again. Value plays always seem to trump matchups so keep your eye on that.

Denver @ San Antonio – 8:30 pm EDT

• Big test for Denver tonight, they travel to San Antonio. Denver has never been known for it’s defense and their rankings only help the Spurs player’s value tonight. I think Tony Parker could have a big night but I personally will never trust him after getting popped so many times. Instead, I am looking at Kawhi Leonard, he does a little of everything on the court and should really excel in an uptempo game. I also like Manu Ginobili, he is really cheap on some sites and has decent upside.
• The Spurs are notorious for taking away a team’s strengths and in this case that’s hard to do because the Nuggets are so deep that they never rely on any one or two players. But that doesn’t help us much either because we never know which Nuggets are going to have good games. I like the way Danilo Gallinari is playing and I also like Andre Miller if Ty Lawson is out again.

Phoenix @ Utah – 9:00 pm EDT

• On paper, this seems like it should be a good game as the Jazz are stuggling, but they play so well at home that I fully expect them to win by double digits tonight. Mo Williams should get the offense going early and you might be able to get Al Jefferson at a discount tonight.
• For the Suns, I continue to say it’s really hard to trust anyone outside of Goran Dragic. And even then, he is pretty inconsistent. The Jazz shut down Jrue Holiday the other night and I expect them to try to stop Dragic tonight. For my money, I am staying away from the Suns tonight.

Sacramento @ Golden State – 10:30 pm EDT

• By far the highest over/under on the board tonight at 213, this game could be fantasy gold if the Kings can keep it close. You just never know with them though. Their defense is terrible and I think all five of the studs on Golden State could have good nights. Curry, Klay, Lee, Bogut, and Jack all have plus matchups. I wouldn’t recommend taking more than two though.
• The Warriors defense has been better lately, but they still aren’t scaring anybody. Tyreke Evans is probably my favorite play on the Kings. You might think that DeMarcus Cousins is a great play, but GS really isn’t bad against Centers and Bogut has really done a good job defensively lately.

Brooklyn @ Portland – 10:30 pm EDT

• Finally to the last game, my hands are cramping here sheesh! I expect this one to be a good game. I like both point guards because neither of them are very great defenders. I would stay away from Aldridge just because defense is Reggie Evans bread and butter.