NBA Grind Down: Friday, November 8th
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
New York at Charlotte
| New York | Charlotte | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 191.5 |  | Vegas | 191.5 | |||||||
| Spread | -2.5 | Spread | 2.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 94.32 | Pace | 96.36 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 14 | 4 | 28 | 4 | 19 | Season | 10 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 6 | |
| Last10 | 14 | 4 | 28 | 4 | 19 | Last10 | 10 | 21 | 5 | 26 | 6 | |
| Felton-Shumpert-Anthony-Stoudemire-Bargnani | Walker-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Biyombo | |||||||||||
New York
The Knicks took a bit hit once Tyson Chandler went down the other night. He is going to be out for at least a month and the Knicks are really going to have a tough time rebounding the ball. The frontcourt combo of Andrea Bargnani and Carmelo Anthony could lead to plenty of offensive rebounds for their opponents. The Knicks are playing with one of the slowest paces in the league (94.3) and are in the bottom 5 in points scored per game (92).
Now to the good news, the Knicks have a great matchup against the Bobcats and the injury to Chandler should really open up some minutes for Bargnani, Aldrich, and World Peace (it’s still funny typing his name). The Bobcats rank in the bottom half of the league against PG’s, SF’s, and Centers and those are the three positions that I like the most on the Knicks tonight.
Players to Target
- Carmelo Anthony – Last year when the Knicks were without Chandler, Melo really stepped up on the defensive glass and had quite a few double-doubles. I could see Melo leading their team in rebounds while Chandler is out as Bargnani isn’t a great rebounder and Melo is going to be their starting PF. That should really help his fantasy appeal going forward as the one knock on Melo is that he relies too much on scoring the ball for his fantasy production.
- Andrea Bargnani – The Knicks say that Bargnani is going to be in for a ton of minutes which is always good to hear from a fantasy perspective. While Bargnani has never been a great rebounder, he may have to be with the lineup that the Knicks are putting out. One thing that you can count on is his offensive production. Biyombo should have a tough time guarding him on the perimeter.
Charlotte
From one low scoring team to another. The Bobcats are the third lowest scoring team in the league at only 90 PPG. They are likely to be without Al Jefferson again tonight so don’t expect their scoring to get any better until Jefferson is back in the lineup. The Bobcats do play much better at home though so I expect this one to be a close game and starters from both teams should see their full allotment of minutes.
The Bobcats matchup with the Knicks is not a great one thanks to the slow pace of play, but without Tyson Chandler in the middle, there is no one to guard the rim. That could really open up some driving lanes for both Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson. Josh McRoberts remains a nice value play with Jefferson on the shelf.
Players to Target
- Kemba Walker – Kemba plays much better at home than he does on the road. Last season, he averaged about 6 more FP’s per game at home and he is at it again this season averaging 7 more FP’s at home compared to his numbers on the road. I think Kemba could really play well tonight as Chandler will not be there to protect the rim. He should be able to attack the basket all game long.
Toronto at Indiana
| Toronto | Indiana | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 186.5 |  | Vegas | 186.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 9.0 | Spread | -9.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 95.89 | Pace | 97.55 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 16 | Season | 3 | 19 | 22 | 27 | 2 | |
| Last10 | 19 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 16 | Last10 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 27 | 2 | |
| Lowry-DeRozan-Gay-Johnson-Valanciunas | Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert | |||||||||||
Toronto
This game is expected to be even lower scoring than the Knicks/Bobcats game and that’s saying something. The Raptors have been a bit of a disappointment this season and a major part of that is from the play of their franchise player Rudy Gay. He is shooting 33% from the field and has not been that defensive presence that he has in years past.
The matchup against the Pacers is below average. The Pacers have one of the best defenses in the league and they rank in the top 10 this season against SG’s, SF’s, and PF’s. You could take a flier pick on Jonas Valanciunas, but the matchup isn’t great. I will say that this could be the time to buy low on Rudy Gay in GPP’s, his price has come down and he is still a great player.
Indiana
The Pacers have picked up their pace slightly this season, but they still rank in the bottom 10 in points per game. They are a tough team that likes to grind their games out and win games on the defensive side of the floor. One situation to monitor is the injury of George Hill, if he is out tonight, C.J. Watson still carries value as a cheap play, but if Hill is in the lineup, it’s probably safe to avoid them both.
This season, the Raptors have been very good at defending both PG’s and Centers and I tend to agree with those numbers. They have struggled to defense the wing positions though and that’s who I will be targeting tonight.
Players to Target
- Paul George – I took some heat for saying to fade George the other night against the Bulls, but he had his lowest fantasy output of the season by far. Sometimes you just have to trust the numbers. I’m a bit mixed on his matchup tonight. On the one hand, Rudy Gay is a solid defender, but on the other hand, Gay hasn’t shown that shut down defense so far this season. I think there is value in George tonight, but he may be overpriced on a few sites.
- Lance Stephenson – Stephenson continues to be a great value play while Danny Granger is out. He is playing at an incredible level and should be played on sites that haven’t adjusted his price to his production. He always plays well at home and has an excellent matchup against DeRozan who is much more concerned with the offensive end of the floor.
Boston at Orlando
| Boston | Orlando | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 189.5 |  | Vegas | 189.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 7.0 | Spread | -7.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 93.27 | Pace | 99.77 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 11 | 26 | 4 | 28 | 22 | Season | 4 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 26 | |
| Last10 | 11 | 26 | 4 | 28 | 22 | Last10 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 9 | 26 | |
| Bradley-Lee-Green-Bass-Faverani | Nelson-Afflalo-Harkless-Nicholson-Vucevic | |||||||||||
Boston
The Celtics are not a great team by any stretch, but they are relevant in the fantasy world because they have a lot of young players that are getting big minutes. Even though the C’s are the lowest scoring team in the league, that doesn’t mean that you should be avoiding them in your lineups. There is value galore with the C’s.
Their matchup against the Magic is above average. The Magic really only have two good defenders and they both end up guarding the same position. Both Harkless and Oladipo both typically guard opposing SF’s which is why they are currently ranked 4th against that position. I am steering clear of Jeff Green tonight, but a few of the other C’s are in play.
Players to Target
- Avery Bradley – Bradley hasn’t put up huge numbers this season, but he has at least 16 FP’s in each of his last 3 games and is still close to minimum salary on a few different sites. He should see plenty of minutes once again and is a very low risk option if you want to save some money at Guard tonight.
- Kelly Olynyk – Olynyk has played over 25 minutes in each of the last 3 games and ended up starting the second half over Faverani last game. It will be interesting to see if he ends up taking over as the starter, but even off the bench he is seeing good minutes and has been producing nicely.
Orlando
The Magic are looking for their 4th win in a row. They have gotten great performances out of Vucevic, Nelson, and Afflalo lately. The Magic play at a quick pace and are actually in the top 10 in scoring this season. I love the matchup tonight against the Celtics who have really struggled against SF’s and Centers.
Players to Target
- Nikola Vucevic – Vucevic makes a great play if Faverani is starting and a solid play if Olynyk is starting. Faverani has really had trouble defending this season and he’s a bit undersized for a starting Center. Vucevic can put up some monster stat lines as shown by his 30 point, 21 rebound effort in his last game. The matchup is there and his price is pretty affordable on every site except for DS.
Cleveland at Philadelphia
| Cleveland | Philadelphia | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 203.5 |  | Vegas | 203.5 | |||||||
| Spread | -3.5 | Spread | 3.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 98.43 | Pace | 103.20 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 28 | 17 | 25 | 12 | 24 | Season | 8 | 24 | 15 | 22 | 8 | |
| Last10 | 28 | 17 | 25 | 12 | 24 | Last10 | 8 | 24 | 15 | 22 | 8 | |
| Irving-Waiters-Clark-Thompson-Varejao | Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes | |||||||||||
Cleveland
Cleveland is playing at a quick pace this season (98.4), but they have struggled to score the ball. They are currently only scoring 90 points per game, but I expect that number to rise. They have had cold starts by their two best scorers, but both Irving and Waiters have been heating up over the past couple of games.
I love the matchup for the Cavs, the Sixers are giving up the most points per game in the league at 108. They have been awful defensively and I will be playing a few different Cavs throughout my different rosters tonight. The Sixers have been below average against every position so everyone is in play here.
Players to Target
- Kyrie Irving – Kyrie finally broke out of his slump last game by putting up over 45 FP’s. While MCW has been great at forcing turnovers this season, he has not been great at keeping opposing PG’s in front of him. I have Irving ranked in my top 3 PG’s tonight.
- Anderson Varejao – Varejao is still pretty cheap across the board and is a great hustle player. I could see him getting quite a few putbacks tonight against this Sixers team that just wants to take the ball out of the hoop and run.
- Dion Waiters – Waiter is starting to heat up over the last few games and should really excel in an uptempo game. His price is very affordable for his upside and he makes a great GPP play.
Philadelphia
The Sixers are a young, exciting team to watch that is going to be in a lot of high scoring games. They have gotten some good production out of MCW, Turner, and Hawes, but Thaddeus Young has been very disappointing thus far. He is still worth a mention because he has great upside, but he’s not recommended in cash games with the way that he is playing.
The two players that I would like to target from the Sixers are the two players that have the worst DvP rankings in their favor. The Cavs have been good at defending both PG’s and Centers and that puts MCW and Hawes in a tough situation. I think Hawes is more of a risk than MCW though.
Players to Target
- Michael Carter-Williams – MCW will be locked up with Kyrie Irving tonight and even though the DvP rankings show this as a bad matchup, Irving isn’t the best on ball defender. MCW is going to get all the minutes he can handle and we have all seen the upside that he brings to the table every night.
- Evan Turner – Turner is playing some great basketball right now and he really excels when he gets the ball in the open floor. He can score, rebound, and defend and should have a field day against the Cavs tonight.
Brooklyn at Washington
| Brooklyn | Washington | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 197.0 |  | Vegas | 197.0 | |||||||
| Spread | -2.5 | Spread | 2.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 97.47 | Pace | 99.03 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 12 | 14 | 30 | 1 | 30 | Season | 7 | 25 | 18 | 8 | 17 | |
| Last10 | 12 | 14 | 30 | 1 | 30 | Last10 | 7 | 25 | 18 | 8 | 17 | |
| Williams-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett-Lopez | Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat | |||||||||||
Brooklyn
The Nets have had a couple of bad losses this season. They haven’t gelled as quickly as I thought they would and they seem to be deferring to each other way too often. Brook Lopez has been the only reliable fantasy option on the Nets so far, but he will be facing Marcin Gortat tonight who is a very physical defender.
There is very little upside with any of the Nets players right now. Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Paul Pierce are all under-producing and KG is already banged up. With so many other options on the table, I am going to fade the Nets tonight.
Washington
The Wizards are playing at a quick pace (99.0) this season, but the Nets are only allowing 98 points per game. Looking at the Nets DvP rankings, they don’t seem to match what I see on the court. Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, and Kevin Garnett are their 3 best defenders, yet they are ranked 7th against opposing PG’s. I am going to chalk that up to a very small sample size as D-Will just isn’t a very good defender.
Players to Target
- John Wall – Wall should have a field day going up against the slowest lineup in the NBA. He should be able to beat them down the floor time and time again and get plenty of easy buckets in transition. Ignore the DvP rankings and treat John Wall as a top 4 PG tonight.
- Trevor Ariza – Ariza has been on fire to start the season. He’s averaging around 35 FP’s per game and most sites have yet to adjust his price. He is still very affordable on both FD and DK and is a recommended option on both of those sites.