NBA Grind Down: Friday, November 1st
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 NFL Scoring System, check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review
Cleveland at Charlotte
| Cleveland | Charlotte | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 190.5 |  | Vegas | 190.5 | |||||||
| Spread | -2.5 | Spread | 2.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 94.95 | Pace | 94.03 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 19 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 24 | Season | 28 | 21 | 26 | 26 | 14 | |
| Last10 | 11 | 24 | 12 | 5 | 21 | Last10 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 21 | 12 | |
| Irving-Waiters-Clark-Thompson-Varejao | Walker-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson | |||||||||||
Cleveland
How great is it to have the NBA back? The Cavs picked up a nice come back win over the Nets in their season opener in which Kyrie Irving shook off some first half foul trouble and dominated in the second half. The Cavs have a juicy matchup tonight against the Bobcats who were one of the worst defenses in the NBA last season and don’t appear to be any better this season. The Bobcats struggle to defend all posisitions so this really comes down to which Cavaliers you should be targeting.
Players to Target
- Kyrie Irving – Kyrie was in foul trouble in their first game and entered halftime with less than 10 fantasy points. He quickly shook that off and ended up finishing with over 35 fantasy points. He has a nice matchup with Kemba Walker who is much more concerned with his offense than he is his defense. While the pace of play should be pretty slow in this game, there is some nice upside for Kyrie as he can create his own shot and is great in the pick and roll.
- Anderson Varejao – If you played daily fantasy basketball last season, you know the type of numbers that Varejao can put up. He was a threat to get 20 rebounds almost every night last season before he got hurt. Even though the Cavs have Andrew Bynum, he only played 8 minutes in the opener and is questionable to play tonight. Don’t let that influence your decision. Varejao logged 30 minutes the other night and makes his money by being the best hustler on the court. I love the matchup against Al Jefferson who is known as one of the weakest big men defenders in the league.
Charlotte
If the first game was any sign of things to come, the Bobcats are going to be in for another long season. They could only muster 83 points against one of the fastest paced teams in the league. Granted, Dwight Howard was manning the middle, but 83 points is a weak effort against a solid defense. It’s a pathetic effort against a bad defense. A few bright spots fantasy wise were Josh McRoberts and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. They both logged over 30 minutes and scored over 20 fantasy points. As a team, the Bobcats are not good, but there are some decent plays for us Grinders.
Players to Target
- Josh McRoberts – McBob makes a good value play tonight. He’s getting enough minutes to be worthy of rostering in both H2H as well as GPP leagues. Last season the Cavs were ranked 26th against opposing PF’s so if you can get McRoberts for a good price, he should easily cover his value.
- Kemba Walker – There are a few reasons to like Walker tonight. First off, he can take over games and have huge fantasy performances. Second, the Cavs were bad at defending PG’s last season. Lastly, Walker played very well at home last season where he averaged more points, assists, and steals than he did on the road. Target both of the PG’s in this game.
New Orleans at Orlando
| New Orleans | Orlando | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 194.5 |  | Vegas | 194.5 | |||||||
| Spread | -4.0 | Spread | 4.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 90.86 | Pace | 94.48 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 27 | 16 | 25 | 12 | 27 | Season | 15 | 17 | 24 | 11 | 17 | |
| Last10 | 28 | 11 | 28 | 22 | 18 | Last10 | 26 | 5 | 18 | 28 | 10 | |
| Holiday-Gordon-Evans-Davis-Smith | Nelson-Afflalo-Harkless-Nicholson-Vucevic | |||||||||||
New Orleans
The Pelicans face the Magic tonight in what should be a battle of lottery teams. Vegas has the Hornets favored by 4 with a pretty low over/under. Both of these teams play with a slow pace of play, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any fantasy options. The Pelicans have a nice young core and Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, and Anthony Davis all looked good in their first game against a tough defense of the Pacers. While I like both guards, there is only one Pelican I am targeting tonight.
Players to Target
- Anthony Davis – The BROW is looking to take a huge step up this season. Many are expecting him to finish the season as a top 10 fantasy player which really isn’t that crazy of an assumption. The Pelicans are going to give him more minutes than last season and he should blossom this season. In his first game he went for 20 and 12 against a very tough Indiana defense.
Orlando
To the Magic’s credit, they have played both the Pacers and the T-Wolves tough this season. They are definitely playing better than expected considering they are missing one of their best players in Tobias Harris. Harris is expected to miss this game again so the same Magic players that we have targeted in the first two games are going to be in play. I don’t love the matchup for Jameer Nelson though, Jrue Holiday is one of the best on-ball defenders there is and Nelson’s price has risen since the beginning of the season.
Players to Target
- Nikola Vucevic – I’d like to recommend taking Harkless again, but it looks like it’s going to take a few games for him to get going. Instead I will take the dominant big man Vucevic. He scored over 50 FP’s last game in one of the toughest matchups that a center can have. Pekovic is regarded as one of the best big men defenders and Vucey had no problem scoring on him. He should be able to score easily against Stiemsma tonight.
Philadelphia at Washington
| Philadelphia | Washington | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 197.5 |  | Vegas | 197.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 9.5 | Spread | -9.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.31 | Pace | 94.41 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 14 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 10 | Season | 21 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 23 | |
| Last10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 9 | Last10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 2 | |
| Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes | Wall-Beal-Ariza-Booker-Hilario | |||||||||||
Philadelphia
I had some high hopes for Carter-Williams, but I certainly wasn’t expecting him to come out of the gates with a 60 fantasy point game against the defending champs. I know it’s only been one game, but the Sixers have to be happy with what they’ve seen out of him. Tonight, Carter-Williams faces another young PG that is looking to establish himself as a top 5 PG this season in John Wall. I don’t think we can expect another huge game out of Carter-Williams, but on sites that haven’t adjusted his price yet, he’s close to a must play.
Players to Target
- Evan Turner – In addition to MCW, I like Turner against the Wizards. When he’s engaged, he can really fill up the stat sheet and is a nice player to take because he can score fantasy points in other ways than just making shots. Turner will get a full complement of minutes and his price is very affordable across the board.
Washington
Don’t look now but the Wizards actually have a pretty good starting five. They are going to be dealing with Nene Hilario injuries all season long, but other than that they looked pretty good in their first game of the season. The backcourt of Wall and Beal is going to be one of the best backcourt combo’s in the league over the next few years. I like the matchup against the Sixers who have a much different style of play this season. This game should be a fairly uptempo game with some potential fantasy studs.
Players to Target
- John Wall – Wall is the engine of this Wizards offense. He is coming off of a huge second half of the year last season and picked up right where he left off in the season opener with 20 points and 11 assists. Wall will be locked up with MCW and you know he is going to want to quiet the rookie down after his monster first game.
- Brad Beal – Beal should be in for a monster sophomore season. The Wizards will lean on him heavily on the offensive side of the ball. In his first game this season, he put up 18 shots over 38 minutes, both of which are very encouraging. I like his matchup tonight against the Sixers who seem like a much different team than last season. They are looking to push the ball with MCW. Beal has a great chance to top 30 FP’s tonight.
Toronto at Atlanta
| Toronto | Atlanta | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 195.5 |  | Vegas | 195.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 3.0 | Spread | -3.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 92.94 | Pace | 94.72 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 20 | 13 | 15 | 21 | 8 | Season | 9 | 25 | 2 | 18 | 16 | |
| Last10 | 23 | 10 | 26 | 19 | 8 | Last10 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 15 | |
| Lowry-DeRozan-Gay-Johnson-Valanciunas | Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Horford | |||||||||||
Toronto
Toronto plays with a pretty slow pace of play. They were in the bottom half of the league last season with only 92.8 possessions per 48 minutes. They have a lot of talent on their team, but when teams play at a slower pace it can really hurt their fantasy appeal. Rudy Gay, Demar Derozan, Kyle Lowry, and Jonas Valanciunas are all good offensive weapons, but they aren’t a high scoring team so they end up hurting each other’s fantasy value. I will likely be fading the Raptors tonight, but there is one player that I may target in GPP’s.
Players to Target
- Rudy Gay – Gay isn’t a consistent fantasy option night in and night out, but he has huge upside thanks to his ability to score and fill up the other areas of the stat sheet. Gay’s fantasy points can really add up when he is aggressive on the defensive end and starts forcing turnovers. He has a decent matchup against the Hawks and makes a nice GPP play.
Atlanta
The Hawks got caught up in a shootout in their first game of the season. I think the biggest surprise of that game was how well DeMarre Carroll played. He’s always been a great defender with a decent offensive game, but I wasn’t expecting him to continue the success that he had in the preseason. He’s going to get plenty of minutes at the SF position and is in play again tonight, especially on sites where he is minimum salary. I’m not sure if the Hawks are planning to push the ball more or if they just got caught up in a shootout with the Mavs, but we should get a better idea after tonight’s game.
Players to Target
- Jeff Teague – Teague will always be a hated player of mine after he hurt me in last year’s DFBC, but hey no biases right? Teague played great in the opener and has a nice starting five to work with. Horford and Millsap are a nice combo inside and Korver spreads the floor. Teague will be matched up against Kyle Lowry tonight whose always been more of a score first PG.
Milwaukee at Boston
| Milwaukee | Boston | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 189.0 |  | Vegas | 189.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 2.0 | Spread | -2.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 97.32 | Pace | 93.98 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 8 | 5 | 17 | 19 | 15 | Season | 10 | 15 | 22 | 16 | 30 | |
| Last10 | 21 | 2 | 11 | 17 | 6 | Last10 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 7 | 28 | |
| Knight-Mayo-Butler-Ilyasova-Sanders | Bradley-Green-Wallace-Bass-Faverani | |||||||||||
Milwaukee
The Bucks have a completely revamped backcourt, but they will be missing both Brandon Knight and Luke Ridnour. That should open up a ton of minutes for Gary Neal, but we will get to that in a minute. The Bucks were one of the higher scoring teams in the league last season, but did not look good offensively against the Knicks. Tonight’s game against the Celtics could prove to be a good game to target. Both teams aren’t expected to do much this season but sometimes when two bad teams face each other, it is fantasy gold.
Players to Target
- Gary Neal – Like I mentioned above, Neal is going to get the start at PG tonight for the Bucks. He is close to minimum salary on sites across the board and looks like a terrific value play. He will be matched up against Avery Bradley who is a great defender, but he should be able to cover his value just by being out on the floor for 35 minutes.
Boston
The Celtics played the Raptors tough in their first game and really had some bright spots. Avery Bradley played well, Jeff Green continues to succeed on the C’s, and Victor Faverani proved that his preseason numbers weren’t a fluke. The Celtics are not going to be a good team this season, but they are full of nice fantasy options, especially in tonight’s game.
Players to Target
- Jeff Green – Green was under-owned the other night. I’m not sure if it’s just because he is on the Celtics or because there are so many other options, but Green is a great player that can do everything on the court. He had over 30 FP’s against the Raptors and should top that number tonight against the Bucks who are not known for their defense.
- Avery Bradley – Bradley is a site-specific play tonight. A couple of the sharper priced sites have already increased his price so I don’t recommend taking him on those sites. But on sites where he is still one of the cheapest PG’s available, he makes a great value play.
- Victor Faverani – Faverani had a great preseason and played pretty well in the opener against the Raptors. I took a wait and see approach with him the first night, but he got a full complement of minutes and looked good against a tough Raptors frontcourt. To me, the Center position is all about value tonight. Take either Kanter or Faverani and combo them with a few studs.