NBA Grind Down: Friday, November 8th - Page 3
Denver at Phoenix
| Denver | Phoenix | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 201.5 |  | Vegas | 201.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 0.0 | Spread | 0.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 97.79 | Pace | 94.98 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 25 | 5 | 26 | 19 | 4 | Season | 16 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | |
| Last10 | 25 | 5 | 26 | 19 | 4 | Last10 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 5 | |
| Lawson-Foye-Hamilton-Faried-McGee | Dragic-Bledsoe-Tucker-Plumlee-Frye | |||||||||||
Denver
The Nuggets have not been the same offensive force that we are accustomed to seeing. Injuries to their starting lineup has really hurt their offensive production. They are currently in the middle of the pack in both pace of play (98) and points per game (97). Jordan Hamilton and Randy Foye are still candidates for value plays as they are both seeing big minutes filling in for Chandler and Gallinari.
The matchup with the Suns looks promising. The Suns have really struggled to defend PG’s, SF’s, and PF’s.
Players to Target
- Ty Lawson – You could make a case for both Foye and Faried in this matchup, but my favorite play on the Nuggets by far is Lawson. He had his best game of the season last night with 40 FP’s. The Suns are ranked 25th against PG’s this season and I expect Lawson to be the main weapon offensively.
Phoenix
The Suns are a young team that has quite a few different fantasy options each night. One thing to note in this one is that Goran Dragic is listed as a game-time decision. I don’t think that Dragic playing would hurt Bledsoe’s value that much, but it would send Gerald Green back to the bench and end his run as a nice value play.
It’s a strange sight to look at the Nuggets DvP rankings and see 3 of those rankings highlighted red.
Players to Target
- Eric Bledsoe – Morris has been playing well lately, but Bledsoe is my favorite fantasy option on the Suns tonight. He’s actually averaged more points with Dragic in the lineup than with him out of the lineup so even if Dragic plays tonight, treat Bledsoe the same way. He should really excel in an uptempo game like this.
Sacramento at Portland
| Sacramento | Portland | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 203.0 |  | Vegas | 203.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 7.5 | Spread | -7.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 94.25 | Pace | 97.49 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 29 | 20 | 7 | 20 | 9 | Season | 27 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 25 | |
| Last10 | 29 | 20 | 7 | 20 | 9 | Last10 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 21 | 25 | |
| Vasquez-Thornton-Salmons-Patterson-Cousins | Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez | |||||||||||
Sacramento
The Kings have been incredibly inconsistent this season. None of their starters have been very good fantasy options other than Cousins and even he hasn’t been all that great. My philosophy with Cousins is to only take him in situations where he is close to a must play. He has burned me way too many times with him either getting kicked out, getting in foul trouble, or getting benched. With so many other options at center, why put that stress on yourself by picking Cousins?
Players to Target
- Isaiah Thomas – Thomas has been the one bright spot for the Kings this season. He is averaging over 30 minutes and 30 FP’s per game. He’s been a consistent weapon off the bench and is really the only Kings player that I trust at this point.
Portland
The Blazers are a fun team to watch because they have a lot of young talent that can make some incredible plays. They are the 6th highest scoring team this season at 106 points per game and have a great matchup against the Kings tonight. The Kings rank in the bottom 10 against PG’s, PF’s, and Centers.
Players to Target
- LaMarcus Aldridge – For whatever reason, Aldridge is often left off the list of top fantasy options each night, yet he’s averaging 24 points and 6 rebounds per game. If he can get his rebound total up to where it was last season, he would be averaging close to 40 FP’s per game. I love the matchup against the Kings and could see him topping 40 tonight.
- Damian Lillard – The Kings rank 27th against opposing PG’s and Lillard should feast on the likes of Vasquez and Thomas. Lillard is a playmaker that averages the 5th most touches per game in the league at 90 per game. When a player gets the ball that often, good things should happen against this bad defense.