NBA Grind Down: Happy New Year!
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
Click ‘Stat Chart’ Buttons Below for Pop-Ups of Essential Game-Specific Statistics including Defense vs. Position and Pace
Dallas at Washington
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Dallas
Happy New Year Grinders! Let’s kick 2014 off with a good start in DFS. The Mavericks and Wizards game is a great one to target tonight. The Wizards are only favored by 1 point and the total for this game is set at 202 points. The Wizards have not had very consistent DvP rankings thanks to their lineup having constant changes due to all of their injuries. Dirk Nowitzki is always in play for cash games, but my favorite play here is Monta Ellis.
- Monta Ellis – Monta has a nice matchup with Beal tonight. Look for him to stay aggressive and to really push the pace. One of my favorite stats is that Monta has had at least 5 assists in 6 straight games. The fact that he is passing the ball only makes him more valuable in DFS.
Washington
The Wizards have a great matchup tonight. The Mavericks love to push the tempo and the Wizards should see a couple more possessions than their season average. I am still avoiding Nene Hilario. Until he can get back to playing 30-35 minutes per game, he is going to have a hard time covering his value.
The Mavericks have defended PF’s well this season, but haven’t been great against any of the other positions. I think there are a few plays that make sense here. John Wall is the engine of this offense and will look to push the ball upcourt. Bradley Beal makes an interesting GPP play, his price is awfully low on a few sites.
- Trevor Ariza – Ariza is one of my favorite fantasy players because he is in the mid-tier for forwards and he can do so many different things on the court. When he is aggressive on the defensive end, he can easily get double-digit fantasy points from steals and blocks alone. I expect him to have a bit game tonight.
Indiana at Toronto
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
Indiana
The Pacers and Raptors game is expected to be a very low scoring game. Both of these teams are in the bottom half of the league in pace of play and the total for this game is set at only 190 points. That said, the Pacers are only favored by 5 and with a short slate of games, it’s going to be hard to completely avoid any of the games tonight.
The Raptors make my job easy. If you look at their DvP rankings, you will see that they have defended PG’s, PF’s, and Centers well this season and have struggled against SG’s and SF’s. Those are the two positions that you should target in this one. Lance Stephenson should be in for a bounce back game after a quiet outing yesterday.
- Paul George – George is always a great fantasy play because he can fill up the stat sheet and he plays a lot of minutes. I like the matchup against Ross and think he will have a solid game after being fairly quiet in their win yesterday. George is priced fairly across the industry and makes a nice play tonight.
Toronto
The Raptors are in a tough spot. The Pacers are a great team defensively and rank in the top 7 at defending every position except for SF. I don’t love the matchup for any of the Raptors players tonight and would only use them if they are extremely under-priced on the site that you play on. I’ve noticed that Amir Johnson is cheap on a few sites, but he’s still a little too risky for me to trust in cash games.
New Orleans at Minnesota
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Holiday-Evans-Aminu-Anderson-Davis
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Pekovic
New Orleans
The Pelicans are in a great spot tonight. Both of these teams love to push the pace and there are great fantasy options from both teams. Eric Gordon will be back in the lineup tonight, but I don’t think that he hurts anyone’s value tonight. Tyreke Evans should continue to be used on sites where he is still affordable. Jrue Holiday is also in play, he has a great matchup against Rubio.
- Anthony Davis – Davis is back to posting monster fantasy games and should be considered a top 3 fantasy option tonight. He is still much cheaper than the likes of Paul and Love, yet he has just as much upside. He’s one of my favorite plays tonight.
Minnesota
The Wolves are also in a good spot. The total for this game is set at 211 points and both teams are expected to score in the hundreds. The Pelicans have been solid at defending SF’s this season, but have struggled against the rest of the positions. I think Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic, and Kevin Martin are all in play, but Kevin Love takes the honors for the top play here.
- Kevin Love – Love is the top fantasy option tonight. I have a hard time seeing Ryan Anderson defending Love in the post. He should continue his double-double streak and I think he should be able to top 45 FP’s in this one.
Philadelphia at Denver
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Turner-Thompson-Young-Hawes
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Hamilton-Chandler-Faried-Hickson
Philadelphia
I always like to see the Sixers on the schedule. This game has the highest total of the night. Even though this one does have some blowout potential, it will be so high scoring that it won’t matter all that much. The Nuggets have been very average defensively this season. Michael Carter-Williams makes a great play if you can afford him. I also like Thaddeus Young who has been on fire over the last couple of weeks.
- Spencer Hawes – Hawes had a stretch where he was in a slump, but he seems to have come out of it. He has topped 40 FP’s in 2 of his last 3 games and has a great matchup tonight. Now that Faried is back in the lineup, Hawes will be facing Hickson who is not a great defender.
Denver
The Nuggets are the top team to target tonight. The Sixers are ranked in the bottom 4 against every single position. There are a number of different ways that you can go here. I wouldn’t hesitate to take 2-3 Nuggets tonight and they are all in play. I repeat, they are ALL in play.
- Ty Lawson – Lawson is my favorite of the bunch because PG’s have torched this Sixers team all season long. Lawson should be able to push the tempo and create easy shots for both himself and his teammates.
Charlotte at L.A.Clippers
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Tolliver-McRoberts-Jefferson
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Crawford-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
Charlotte
The Bobcats are 11 point underdogs tonight and are facing a Clippers team that will likely bounce back after getting trounced by the Suns. This game has blowout written all over it. I will be avoiding the high dollar players in this one.
- Anthony Tolliver – Even though I think this game will be a blowout, Tolliver will likely still see big minutes. The Bobcats are really hurting at the SF position and he has averaged over 30 minutes per game as a starter. He is close to minimum salary across the board.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers are big favorites and even with a short slate of games, I think they are an easy fade. Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan, and Blake Griffin are all expensive and their fantasy values would really take a hit in a blowout.