NBA Grind Down: Friday, February 28th - Page 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-02-28 21:00:33

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Sacramento at L.A.Lakers

Vegas Line – L.A. Lakers -2, 214 Over/Under
Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Landry
L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Johnson-Bazemore-Gasol

Sacramento

The Kings have to be the top team to target tonight. Not only do they face the worst defense that’s on the schedule tonight, but they will be doing it without their best player in DeMarcus Cousins. His absence should open up huge minutes and production for quite a few players tonight.

The matchup for the Kings can’t get much better. The Lakers are giving up 106.2 points per game this season and are ranked 27th or worse in terms of fantasy points allowed to all five positions. The Kings are going to start Derrick Williams at PF and slide Jason Thompson over to Center. Both players make excellent punt options tonight. Ben McLemore is also a nice punt option, he is seeing 35+ minutes a game now that Thornton and Jimmer are gone.

Rudy Gay – Gay and Thomas are two of my favorite plays tonight. They should both see a nice boost offensively with Cousins out and they have a great matchup. Gay’s price has gone up recently, but he is worth paying up for tonight. The Lakers do not defend and are turnover prone. Gay should be licking his chops for this one.

Isaiah Thomas – This game is expected to be the highest scoring game of the night and we all know how bad this Lakers defense it. Look for Isaiah to post a monster stat line against Marshall and company. With Cousins out, he should take over this game offensively and I’m expecting him to easily drop 20 points and 10 assists.

L.A.Lakers

The Lakers have a nice matchup tonight and the fact that the Kings are going to play small ball with them only helps their fantasy value. The Lakers have a very small starting lineup and D’Antoni has been using his bench very sparingly over the last couple of games. The Lakers are projected to be the highest scoring team tonight and a mini-Lakers stack may be very valuable tonight. There are three plays that I love from the Lakers tonight, but I also think Kendall Marshall and Jodie Meeks are both in play.

Kent Bazemore – Bazemore is getting all of the minutes he can handle right now as D’Antoni has all but given up on both Jordan Hill and Ryan Kelly. Bazemore has played 39 minutes in back to back games. If he gets that many minutes again tonight against the Kings, he should be the top value play across the industry.

Pau Gasol – Pau is my favorite play tonight. He will be used in all of my lineups across the industry. Pau not only has a terrific matchup against the Kings, but he is facing them without Cousins. Pau should have his hand prints all over both ends of the floor. Pau has topped 32 FP’s in each of his last 4 games since coming back from injury and I think he can top 40 FP’s tonight.

Wesley Johnson – Johnson’s minutes have been up and down over the past few games, but with the Kings playing small ball, I expect D’Antoni to stick with Johnson at PF for the majority of the game. He has played well at home this season and has shown his ability to post 30+ FP efforts. Great upside for Johnson tonight.

New Orleans at Phoenix

Vegas Line – Phoenix -7, 202 Over/Under
New Orleans Proj. Starters – Roberts-Gordon-Evans-Aminu-Ajinca
Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Green-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee

New Orleans

The value of both teams tonight really hinges on a couple of injuries. For the Pelicans, it all comes down to whether Anthony Davis is going to be able to play or not. He hurt his shoulder in their last game and he is listed as a game-time decision for tonight. If he ends up sitting out, you can safely bump up Alexis Ajinca, Greg Stiemsma, Al-Farouq Aminu, and even Eric Gordon. All four are in play if Davis is out.

Phoenix

Goran Dragic is the injury that we need to monitor on the Suns. He is also listed as a game-time decision. If he has to sit out, Ish Smith would draw another start and make a great value play. The Pelicans are giving up 101.3 points per game this season and have been below average defensively against PG’s, PF’s, and Centers. Miles Plumlee is very cheap across the industry and may be able to get it going tonight against this weak Pelicans’ interior.

Markieff Morris – Morris has really played well since the All-Star break and has an excellent matchup tonight against the Pelicans, especially if Anthony Davis ends up having to sit out. Morris is averaging close to 30 FP’s per game over his last 6 games and is a threat to reach that mark again tonight.