NBA Grind Down: Friday, March 21st

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-03-21 20:49:18

Welcome to the RotoGrinders NBA Grind Down Article. Each day, we’ll break down all of the matchups with a focus on defense vs. position stats. The Grind Down shows you Vegas lines, defense stats and projected starting lineups for each and every game.

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. Use this article to help you gain a better understanding of the matchups for the coming week and build from there. We have everything you could possibly need on our Daily Research console for you to be a successful daily fantasy player!

Note: Any Fantasy Point Average Listed Uses FanDuel Scoring. For more info on FanDuel’s NBA Scoring System, check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review

Click ‘Stat Chart’ Buttons Below for Pop-Ups of Essential Game-Specific Statistics including Defense vs. Position and Pace

Chicago at Indiana

Vegas Line – Indiana -5, 181.5 Over/Under
Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert

Chicago

The Bulls and the Pacers are two teams that we like to avoid in terms of opponents. These are two slow paced teams that own the top 2 defenses in the league. The total of this game is set at 181.5 points which is by far the lowest total of the night. While this game should stay close, it will be played at a snail’s pace and points will be hard to come by. Joakim Noah is basically matchup proof at this point, but his price is up and overpaying for him in a bad matchup may not be the best decision tonight.

Indiana

The Pacers are in the same boat as the Bulls. The Bulls are one of the slowest paced teams in the league and are holding their opponents to only 92 points per game. The Bulls are ranked 8th or better in fantasy points allowed to all five positions. There are 9 other games on the schedule tonight and you don’t need to waste a roster spot on any Pacers or Bulls players.

New York at Philadelphia

Vegas Line – New York -12, 209.5 Over/Under
New York Proj. Starters – Felton-Smith-Anthony-Stoudemire-Chandler
Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Wroten-Thompson-Young-Sims

New York

These two teams played a little while ago in Madison Square Garden and the Sixers managed to put up quite a fight. This time around the game will be played in Philadelphia and the Sixers may be able to keep this one close enough that all starters see their usual amount of playing time. The Sixers are the league’s fastest paced team (102 possessions per game) and own the league’s worst defense (110 points allowed per game).

There are plenty of fantasy options in this one. Raymond Felton has a nice ceiling as he will have the ball in his hands often against this awful defense. Tyson Chandler should control the glass as the Sixers are one of the worst rebounding teams in the league. J.R. Smith has nice upside tonight if he can fill up the stat sheet in areas other than scoring.

Carmelo Anthony – Melo is an easy play tonight. We all know how bad this Sixers’ defense is and Melo should have a big night offensively. Melo really becomes a fantasy stud when he rebounds the ball and gets his teammates involved offensively. His shots are going to be there so if he can fill up the rest of the stat sheet, he could be looking at a 50 FP outing.

Amare Stoudemire – Stoudemire may go overlooked tonight as there are so many options on this Knicks team and his price has risen across the industry. I have him locked in as a 30+ FP player tonight. He posted 23 points and 6 rebounds in their last meeting and has been very solid as the Knicks’ starting PF.

Philadelphia

The Sixers managed to keep the last game against the Knicks close and I see them being competitve again tonight. They have kept 3 of their last 4 games within 10 points which really boosts the fantasy value for both teams. James Anderson is a game-time decision tonight and if he is forced to sit out, Tony Wroten would make a terrific value play. He has posted 28 and 37 FP’s in his last two starts at SG.

Michael Carter-Williams – The Knicks have been solid against PG’s this season, but in their last meeting, MCW posted a huge triple-double (23 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds). MCW has had that high ceiling that we’ve seen earlier in the season and he has been playing close to 40 minutes in close games. He should post another solid all-around game against the smaller Felton.

Oklahoma City at Toronto

Vegas Line – Oklahoma City -3, 206 Over/Under
Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Jackson-Durant-Ibaka-Adams
Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-Derozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas

Oklahoma City

Russell Westbrook should be back in the lineup tonight. The Thunder do not want to play him in back to back sets which is the reason that they rested him last night. This should be a great game to watch and it will be a great test for the Raptors who are trying to take that next step forward. The matchup for the Thunder doesn’t look great on paper. The Raptors are holding opponents to 97.5 points which is the 5th fewest in the NBA. The total suggests a faster paced game though so we don’t need to avoid the Thunder completely.

Kevin Durant – Westbrook will be hounded by Lowry all game which hurts his fantasy appeal. Durant on the other hand will be going up against the likes of Terrence Ross and John Salmons. Durant has 57 and 58 FP’s in his last 2 games and should have another big game tonight. With Westbrook and Ibaka both in tough matchups, Durant should see a small uptick in production.

Toronto

The Raptors face a Thunder defense that is also ranked in the top 10 in points allowed per game (99.1). Jonas Valanciunas participated in this morning’s shootaround and is tentatively expected to play tonight. That means that Tyler Hansbrough will go back to the bench and his short run as a value play is likely over. The matchup for the bigs is tough anyway, the two positions that you want to target against the Thunder are PG’s and SG’s.

Kyle Lowry – In the tough PG matchup, I give Lowry the edge. Lowry plays more minutes and has the better matchup of the two. Lowry has been red hot in his last 4 games and should have another nice outing in an uptempo game against the Thunder. Westbrook takes too many chances defensively and Lowry should be able to take advantage of that.

DeMar DeRozan – The Thunder have surrendered the most FP’s of any team to opposing SG’s over the last 15 days and Dion Waiters had a 30 point outing against them last night. DeRozan is a great scorer that can also rebound and pass. I like him more on non-efficiency sites because of his high volume of shot attempts, but he’s in play on all sites across the board.

New Orleans at Atlanta

Vegas Line – Atlanta -6, 202 Over/Under
New Orleans Proj. Starters – Roberts-Gordon-Evans-Davis-Stiemsma
Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Antic

New Orleans

Anthony Davis is expected to be back in the lineup tonight and hopefully this won’t be another night like Wednesday where we saw a ton of late scratches. This is a great matchup for the Pelicans. The Hawks have turned into a fast-paced team (97 possessions per game) that doesn’t play any defense (102 points allowed per game). The Hawks have have not been particularly good at defending any position on the floor as they are ranked between 19th-24th against all positions in fantasy points allowed.

Anthony Davis – Millsap is an undersized PF and Davis has as much length as anyone in the NBA. He should be able to pick up a few blocks tonight. There is a little bit of a concern that Millsap may pull him away from the basket and hurt his rebounding numbers, but the Hawks have surrendered the 7th most FP’s to PF’s this season so that clearly hasn’t hurt PF’s in the past.

Tyreke Evans – Evans has topped 38 FP’s in 6 of his last 8 games and is flying under the radar tonight. His price has finally started to catch up to his production, but this is a perfect matchup for him. The Hawks like to push the pace and Millsap and Antic aren’t exactly your classic rim protectors.

Atlanta

The Hawks face a Pelicans team that plays at a slower than average pace, but their lack of a defense fixed that problem. The Pelicans are ranked 11th and 7th against SG’s and SF’s, but are ranked 20th or worse against the other 3 positions. Pero Antic continues to make a nice punt play at Center. He has averaged over 20 FP’s per game since being re-inserted into the starting lineup and he is still close to minimum salary. The DvP rankings suggest that Paul Millsap is a good play, but I don’t love taking players against Davis and think he is better served as a GPP play.

Jeff Teague – Teague has topped 35 FP’s in 3 of his last 4 games and has a nice matchup tonight against Roberts and the Pelicans who are ranked 23rd against PG’s this season. Teague should look to push the pace and if he can grab 5+ rebounds like he has done recently, he should easily have another 30+ FP outing.

Boston at Brooklyn

Vegas Line – Brooklyn -10, 196 Over/Under
Boston Proj. Starters – Rondo-Bradley-Green-Humphries-Bass
Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Plumlee

Boston

The Celtics have a very tough matchup tonight against the Nets who have won 9 of their last 11 games. The Nets love to slow the pace of the game down and have been very solid defensively. The Nets are holding opponents to 98.8 points per game and the Celtics are only projected to score 93 points tonight. Rajon Rondo had a nice game against the Nets in their last meeting, but I think the Nets will limit him tonight. You could go the route of a Kris Humphries revenge game, but I’ll likely be avoiding the C’s tonight.

Brooklyn

The Nets have been playing some great team basketball of late, but that’s not exactly great for their individual fantasy appeal. With Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, and Shaun Livinvston all playing at a high level, it’s tough to predict who is going to have a good game each night. Livingston makes a nice punt play on both FD and DK, but does have a tough matchup against the pesky Avery Bradley. Without many appealing fantasy options, this might be a game to avoid completely.