NBA Grind Down: Friday, January 31st - Page 2
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Toronto at Denver
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-Derozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Foye-Chandler-Faried-Hickson
Toronto
The Raptors and Nuggets game is expected to be close and very high scoring. The main question for the Raptors is the availability of DeMar DeRozan. It sounds like he wants to give it a go tonight, but I think he is too risky for cash games, even on late swap sites. He could easily aggravate his injury or even be a last minute scratch. With his status in question, it’s also hard to take Greivis Vasquez as a value play.
The Nuggets have not been great at defending opposing bigs this season, but the Raptors have 4 players that are all fighting for minutes at the PF and Center positions. There just isn’t enough playing time to go around to make any one of them a viable fantasy option.
- Kyle Lowry – Lowry has been on fire over the last week or so. He is averaging close to 45 fantasy points per game over his last 4 games and has a very favorable matchup tonight against the Nuggets who may be without Ty Lawson. Lowry has to be considered one of the top PG options on the board tonight.
Denver
The Nuggets may be extremely short handed in their back-court tonight. Nate Robinson has already been ruled out and Ty Lawson is listed as a game-time decision. This give a huge fantasy boost to both Evan Fournier and Randy Foye. Even in a tough matchup against the Raptors, I like them both tonight. Wilson Chandler is also in play tonight, he has really played well over the past week or so and he may be asked to play close to 40 minutes considering how short handed the Nuggets might be.
- Evan Fournier – Fournier is one of my favorite plays tonight as he is close to minimum salary across the board. We likely won’t hear about Lawson’s status until after the first game tips off which should scare most people away from taking Fournier on sites that lock lineups early. For me, taking Fournier is a calculated risk that could end up really paying off if Lawson ends up sitting out.
Charlotte at L.A.Lakers
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Sessions-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Young-Kelly-Gasol
Charlotte
The Bobcats may be my favorite team to target tonight next to the Hawks. The Lakers own an incredibly bad defense and there should be a ton of fantasy points scored in this one. Kemba Walker is questionable for tonight’s game, but we likely won’t know his status until after the first game tips off. This makes it tough to take Ramon Sessions in cash games. I do like Sessions on sites that allow late swaps though.
- Al Jefferson – Jefferson is hands down the top Center tonight. If you can find a way to get him in your lineup, I highly recommend it. Jefferson has topped 35 fantasy points in 10 straight games and has averaged well over 40 fantasy points per game during that stretch. He is facing a Lakers’ defense that has given up the most FP’s of any team to opposing Centers. The Lakers are not a great rebounding team either which is just another reason to take Big Al.
- Gerald Henderson – I recommended Henderson as a top GPP play tonight in the Daily Plays column, but I also like him for cash games. There always seem to be better options at SG, but tonight is the night to give Henderson a chance. He has a great matchup, an affordable price tag, and a good shot of topping 30 FP’s. I predicted that he would top 30 the other night (which he did) and I’m predicting the same again tonight.
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers are expected to have Pau Gasol and Jodie Meeks tonight, but they are both nursing injuries which always has to concern you a little bit. The Lakers have a pretty solid matchup against the Bobcats who have been below average at defending SG’s, SF’s, and Centers over the last 15 days. I’m not sure that I am going to trust any of the Lakers in cash games tonight, but I think Pau Gasol, Kendall Marshall, and Nick Young all make intriguing GPP options.
Golden State at Utah
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Williams-Favors
Golden State
The Warriors are 5.5 point favorites tonight against the Jazz in a game that is going to be very tough to analyze. Not as much for the Warriors, but for the Jazz. The matchup bodes well for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut tonight, but this could be one of those games that turns ugly fast. The Jazz have five players that are listed as game-time decisions. It’s just hard to predict what will happen when we don’t know who will be on the floor. That said, David Lee is probably the safest play here and will be in plenty of my cash games.
Utah
If this game was at 7:00 ET, it would be a lot easier to deal with. But this game tips off at 9:00 ET and we likely won’t know the status of any of the game-time decisions by the time the first game tips off. As of right now, Trey Burke, Derrick Favors, Marvin Williams, Richard Jefferson, and John Lucas are all game-time decision. Odds are that at least a couple of them will sit out tonight. This may be the night to take Gordon Hayward and Enes Kanter and hope that it pays off.