NBA Grind Down: Monday, December 23rd - Page 2
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Dallas at Houston
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
- Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Garcia-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Dallas
This is one of the better games to target tonight. It has the highest total of any game and the Rockets are only favored by 5. The Rockets have one of the worst defenses in the league thanks to their pace of play and struggles to defend in transition. When it comes to the Mavericks, there are really 4 viable fantasy options. Calderon, Ellis, Marion, and Dirk. While I like the matchup for both Calderon and Dirk, I think Monta Ellis and Shawn Marion are the two players to target here.
- Monta Ellis – Ellis is averaging over 35 FP’s per game over his last 3 games and he should be able to top that mark again tonight against the Rockets who will be without their best on ball defender. Look for Monta to push the tempo and create easy shots for himself and his teammates.
- Shawn Marion – Marion is cheap across the board and has great upside tonight against the Rockets. He is at his best when he is running the floor and making plays in transition. I don’t think he will be very highly owned tonight, but I’m predicting around 30 FP’s from him tonight.
Houston
There are a lot of options on the Rockets tonight. They will be without both James Harden and Patrick Beverley so we can expect big minutes for Jeremy Lin, Francisco Garcia, Chandler Parsons, and Omri Casspi. I think they are all in play tonight depending on their price on each site. The Mavericks are below average at defending every position except for PF. Dwight Howard is my favorite play here, but don’t be afraid to use 2-3 Rockets’ players in your lineups.
- Dwight Howard – Howard had one of the best fantasy performances of the season the other night and it’s not a coincidence that he did it on a night where Harden wasn’t playing. When Harden is out of the lineup, the Rockets make an effort to give Dwight the ball. Love the matchup and upside tonight.
Utah at Memphis
- Vegas Line – Memphis -5.5, 187 Over/Under
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Williams-Favors
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Allen-Johnson-Randolph-Davis
Utah
The Jazz are somehow only 5.5 point underdogs tonight. Sure, the Grizzlies are banged up, but the Jazz are such an inconsistent team that is definitely scares me. That said, I’m trusting the line in this one. Both of these teams play at an extremely slow pace. Gordon Hayward will be locked up with Tony Allen which is a tough matchup. Derrick Favors makes a solid GPP play, but I’m still not paying that much for him in cash games.
- Trey Burke – Burke has topped 25 FP’s in 7 of his last 9 games and should continue to play well tonight. Conley is a fairly average defender when he doesn’t have Gasol protecting the rim when he gets beat off the dribble. Expect another solid outing from the rookie.
Memphis
The Grizzlies have a decent matchup against the Jazz, but I’m just not sure which players to target here. James Johnson has filled in nicely for Prince, but he is still very unpredictable. Ed Davis got the start at Center the other night, but loses minutes to both Koufos and Leuer. Mike Conley makes sense if the price is right, but it’s worth noting that the Jazz are ranked 8th against PG’s on the season. I think there is only one play that really stands out to me.
- Zach Randolph – Randolph has really played well over the last few weeks and should have a field day against the much smaller Marvin Williams. Z-Bo should easily post a double-double tonight against the Jazz who are ranked 19th against Centers.
Toronto at San Antonio
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- San Antonio Proj. Starters – Parker-Belinelli-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter
Toronto
The Raptors are playing the second half of a back to back and are facing a very tough Spurs team that owns one of the best point differentials in the league. Vegas has the Spurs favored by 11.5 in this game and I think we have to factor in a blowout here. I wouldn’t pay up for Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, or Amir Johnson, but you could go the value route of either Terrence Ross or John Salmons. Both should play their typical minutes even if this game gets out of hand.
San Antonio
I never like playing the Spurs starters when they are big favorites because Coach Pop doesn’t play his guys one more minute than absolutely necessary. If the Spurs get up big early, I could see Parker, Duncan, and Leonard all playing less than 30 minutes. This game is an easy fade.
Golden State at Denver
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Foye-Chandler-Faried-Hickson
Golden State
The Warriors are 1 point underdogs against the Nuggets in what is expected to be one of the highest scoring games of the night. Both of these teams are expected to score over 100 points and there are a ton of fantasy options here. With Andre Iguodala back in the lineup, I don’t love any of the trio: Iguodala, Thompson, Barnes. However, I really like Stephen Curry, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut. Both Bogut and Lee are in play against a weak interior Nuggets’ defense. Use them if their prices aren’t too high.
- Stephen Curry – Curry is the top overall PG option tonight. Even though the Nuggets have been decent against PG’s this season, both of these teams play with a quick pace and Lawson is not going to be able to defend Curry, especially in the open floor. I think Curry could top 30 points and 10 assists here.
Denver
The Nuggets will be without Kenneth Faried tonight which means they will start both Mozgov and Hickson. They both started the other night as well and here’s how they fared: Mozgov put up over 20 FP’s in 26 minutes and Hickson put up 20 FP’s in only 21 minutes. I think they are both in play here, but Mozgov is the better value by far. He is much cheaper and has similar upside as Hickson. Wilson Chandler is also in play, he has been playing great over the past couple of weeks and is still in that mid to lower tier price range.
- Ty Lawson – My favorite play on the Nuggets is Mr. Lawson. The Warriors are giving up the 6th most FP’s to PG’s this season and Lawson should have shaken off his cold by now. Lawson is the motor of this team and will benefit the most from playing in an uptempo game.
L.A.Lakers at Phoenix
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Henry-Meeks-Johnson-Hill-Gasol
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Bledsoe-Dragic-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers will get Pau Gasol back for tonight’s game which is good news for them, but I just don’t think it’s going to be enough to keep them afloat. Even though they beat the Wolves the other night, I do not have very high prospects for the Lakers until either Kobe, Nash, Blake, or Farmar comes back. Vegas has this the Suns favored by 8, but this game has as much potential for a blowout as any other game on the schedule.
That said, with all of the injuries to the Lakers, Nick Young, Xavier Henry, and Wesley Johnson are all going to continue to see major minutes. I think they are all in play tonight because the Lakers don’t really have anyone else. I would rank those three in terms of fantasy value in this order: Henry, Young, Johnson. If they are priced right, get one or two of them in your lineups.
Phoenix
The Suns are in a great spot tonight other than the potential blowout. The Lakers rank in the bottom 3 against every position except for SF. That’s very close to being as bad as the Sixers defense. Everyone on the Suns is in play tonight, but I never love the inconsistent minutes of the bigs.
For me, the two best plays here are the two All-Star caliber guards: Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. I think they should both top 30 FP’s. I don’t recommend taking them both just because this game could turn into a blowout, but I don’t mind playing either of them in cash games.
New Orleans at Sacramento
- Vegas Line – Sacramento -1, 209.5 Over/Under
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Holiday-Gordon-Aminu-Anderson-Davis
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Cousins
New Orleans
The last game of the night should be a good one. The total in this game is the second highest of the night and the Kings are only favored by 1 point. The Kings have been below average against every single position this season so everyone is in play here. Jrue Holiday is probably my favorite of the bunch and I expect him to top 30 FP’s easily in this favorable matchup. Eric Gordon makes a nice value play. Ryan Anderson makes a sneaky GPP play. And finally, Anthony Davis makes a solid play. He’s playing 35+ minutes and has a dream matchup.
Sacramento
The Kings are in a nice spot tonight, but when you talk about the Kings, there are really only 3 viable fantasy options that you want to target. Isaiah Thomas should play well, he is seeing huge minutes and should go step by step with Jrue’s production tonight. Rudy Gay is more of a GPP play in my eyes. He has nice upside, but he’s inconsistent and Aminu has great defense.
- DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins is coming off of a fairly off game by his standards. I expect him to get back at it tonight and actually outproduce Anthony Davis. Cousins should get back to posting 40+ fantasy points tonight.