NBA Grind Down: Monday, April 14th - Page 2
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San Antonio at Houston
- Vegas Line – Houston -5, 211 Over/Under
- San Antonio Proj. Starters – Mills-Green-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
San Antonio
- Key Injuries: Tony Parker (Probable), Tim Duncan (Questionable), Manu Ginobili (Questionable)
We’ve been worried about getting Popped since the beginning of the year. Now that the Spurs have homecourt advantage locked up throughout the playoffs, there is no reason to risk taking any of the Spurs veterans tonight. Even if they end up playing, they could all see somewhere around 15-20 minutes. Just trust me on this one, do not take any of the old guys on the Spurs. Patty Mills and Kawhi Leonard both makes interesting GPP plays, but you will not find a Spurs player in any of my cash game lineups.
Houston
It appears that the Rockets will be at full-strength tonight against the Spurs. They are still trying to hold off the Blazers for the 4th seed so they do have something to play for. That said, Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons are both nursing injuries and it’s probably safe to avoid both tonight. Jeremy Lin should be avoided tonight as well now that Patrick Beverley is back in the mix. The only play that really makes sense here is James Harden. He has topped 57 FP’s in back to back games.
Oklahoma City at New Orleans
- Vegas Line – *Oklahoma City -7.5, 203 Over/Under
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Rivers-Evans-Morrow-Babbitt-Ajinca
Oklahoma City
The Thunder don’t have a ton to play for in their last two games. As long as they win one of their next two games or the Clippers lose one of their next two games, the Thunder will get the 2 seed in the West. After playing yesterday against the Pacers, Russell Westbrook will get the night off as he is still sitting in back to back situations. While this would typically provide a nice fantasy boost to Reggie Jackson, he is currently questionable with a neck injury. We could see Derek Fisher draw the start at PG tonight.
Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka are both tough plays to predict tonight. Both have nice matchups against the Pelicans, but if the Thunder get up big, they would have no reason to keep Durant and Ibaka in the game. For that reason, I will use them in tournaments, but will be avoiding both in cash games.
New Orleans
- Key Injuries: Anthony Davis (Out), Eric Gordon (Out), Brian Roberts, (Questionable), Tyreke Evans (Questionable)
The Pelicans will once again be extremely short handed tonight, especially if Brian Roberts and Tyreke Evans are both out again. The injuries are opening up big playing time for guys like Austin Rivers, Anthony Morrow, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Jeff Withey. While none of those names are exciting, they could all make nice punt plays tonight.
- Austin Rivers – Rivers has topped 35 FP’s in 3 straight outings and has played at least 40 minutes in each of the last two games. The Pelicans have all the reason in the world to play him 40+ minutes again tonight. Rivers is one of my favorite plays across the industry. Target him heavily in both cash and GPP leagues.
L.A.Lakers at Utah
- Vegas Line – Utah -5, 213 Over/Under
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Johnson-Kelly-Hill
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Favors-Kanter
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers will be without their usual injured players tonight, but it sounds like Chris Kaman could possibly suit up. Kaman would make a very interesting play as he has already had 2 huge games against the Jazz this season. His status is still up in the air though and hopefully we can get an update on him before lineups lock. All of the injuries to the Lakers mean big minutes for their current starters. Jordan Hill makes a great play at PF, Ryan Kelly makes a nice punt at PF, Wesley Johnson is a nice upside play in a GPP, and Jodie Meeks continues to post consistent numbers at SG.
Utah
The Jazz have a very nice matchup against the Lakers tonight. There hasn’t been an update on Marvin Williams status for tonight, but with the way Enes Kanter is playing, I highly doubt that they will rush Williams back. The Lakers are ranked 29th or 30th against every position on the floor in terms of fantasy points allowed and I don’t mind employing a mini-Jazz stack here. Trey Burke is cheap and has great home splits, Gordon Hayward provides great upside for a player in his price range, and Derrick Favors has put up some big fantasy performances recently.
- Enes Kanter – My favorite play here is Kanter. He should draw another start at Center and will likely be my cash game play across the industry. Kanter is one of the better rebounders in the NBA and the Lakers just so happen to be the worst rebounding team in the NBA. I’m predicting Kanter to post an 18/18 line tonight.
Memphis at Phoenix
- Vegas Line – Phoenix -3.5, 198 Over/Under
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Prince-Randolph-Gasol
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Bledsoe-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
Memphis
Now this is the game that I’ve been waiting to write about. Both of these teams are in must win situations as they are both fighting for the 8th seed in the west. This is one of the only games where we are guaranteed that the starter’s will play at least their usual number of minutes. The Suns are a very average team defensively as they are ranked between 12 and 19 against all positions. Mike Conley is a great play at PG and I really like Marc Gasol at Center (although I still think Kanter is the way to go at Center).
- Zach Randolph – The Suns are ranked 19th against PF’s and Z-Bo should be able to dominate the glass like he has so often throughout his career. Z-Bo is the Grizzlies’ go-to player in big games and I think he shows up in a big way tonight against the Suns.
Phoenix
Even though I typically like to avoid all players against the Grizzlies, this is a must win game for the Suns and the total is set at 198 points which is actually pretty high for a Grizzlies game. The three players that I will have exposure to here are Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, and Markieff Morris. While they are all in tough matchups, their season is on the line and I expect them to step up and play well tonight.
Minnesota at Golden State
- Vegas Line – Golden State -7.5, 210 Over/Under
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Dieng
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Green-Bogut
Minnesota
The Wolves will likely be without Budinger, Pekovic, Turiaf, and Muhammad tonight against the Warriors. Everyone else is expected to play though. While the total for this game is set at 210 points, the Warriors own a top 10 defense this season and are ranked 17th or better against all five positions. The Warriors could be short handed down low though so if you are going to target any Wolves’ players, target Kevin Love and/or Gorgui Dieng.
Golden State
The Warriors are trying to fend off the Mavericks and Grizzlies for the 6 seed so they certainly have something to play for tonight. Andrew Bogut hurt his ribs last night and his status for tonight is unknown. David Lee is back on the floor, but he is only seeing limited minutes. Draymond Green has been excellent for the Warriors and will likely be asked to play big minutes again tonight. Stephen Curry is the best play here after a huge game against the Blazers last night. The Wolves are ranked 25th against PG’s this season.