NBA Grind Down: Monday, January 13th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-01-13 20:59:13

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

Milwaukee at Toronto

Vegas Line – Toronto -11.5, 184.5 Over/Under
Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Antetokounmpo-Middleton-Ilyasova-Sanders
Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas

Milwaukee

The Bucks travel to Toronto to take on the red hot Raptors who have won 7 of their last 9 games. The Bucks are big underdogs in a game that is expected to be very low scoring. Two things that don’t bode well for the fantasy value of the Bucks. To add to it, the Raptors are ranked in the top 6 against PG’s, PF’s, and Centers. I don’t like any of the matchups for the Bucks and will be avoiding them this evening.

Toronto

The Raptors have a decent matchup against the Bucks, but there is the potential for a blowout and the game is expected to be played at an extremely slow pace. Both of these teams average 95 possessions or less per game which is below the league average. Even though Kyle Lowry has been a great fantasy option over the last few weeks, the Bucks really defend the PG position well thanks to the defense of Brandon Knight. I do like the matchup for DeMar DeRozan, but I don’t think that I am going to pay up for him tonight.

Jonas Valanciunas – If you absolutely have to take someone from this game, Big Val looks like a great option. He has a great matchup against the Bucks who have really struggled to defend the paint this season. Big Val is cheap across the industry and makes a nice punt option at the Center position.

Houston at Boston

Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Boston Proj. Starters – Crawford-Bradley-Green-Humphries-Bass

Houston

The Rockets and Celtics game has the highest total of the night at 206 points. The Rockets are only 6 point favorites and the Celtics have proven time and time again that they can keep games competitive against teams that are more talented than them. The Celtics have defended PG’s well this season, but have struggled against the other 4 positions. My guess is that the Celtics will put Avery Bradley on James Harden though which does hurt his fantasy value a little bit. The Rockets are expecting to get Chandler Parsons back tonight which ends the run for Brewer, Casspi, and Garcia as value plays.

Dwight Howard – I really love the matchup for Dwight tonight. The Celtics are extremely under-sized down low and now that Humphries is starting at Center, it only makes it worse. Dwight should be able to dominate on both ends of the floor. He has been extremely inconsistent this season, but tonight is the night to pay the price for Dwight.

Boston

The Celtics are in a very favorable position tonight. They are playing at home against a fast paced team in what should be one of the highest scoring games of the night. The Rockets have not defended any position well this season with the exception of PG and I still have a hard time avoiding PG’s that are facing Jeremy Lin. There are quite a few options on the Celtics tonight. I think Kris Humphries makes a great play on certain sites (FD & DK especially), Avery Bradley makes a solid cash game play, and Jordan Crawford should play well here.

Jeff Green – My favorite play on the C’s tonight is Jeff Green. He has scored over 25 fantasy points in 5 straight games and should play well again tonight. When Green is aggressive offensively, he is a great fantasy option and with Humphries in the lineup he has really picked up his rebounding with 8, 11, and 11 rebounds in his last 3 games.

Phoenix at New York

Vegas Line – New York -3, 198.5 Over/Under
Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Green-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
New York Proj. Starters – Felton-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Martin

Phoenix

The Suns travel to New York to take on the Knicks who have won 4 straight games. This game is expected to be close and both of these teams can get caught up in a fast tempo. The Suns will be without Eric Bledsoe again tonight, so I will continue to use both Goran Dragic and Gerald Green on sites where they have decent salaries. The Knicks have really defended the paint well this season though so I will be avoiding the risky Suns bigs.

Goran Dragic – Dragic has been very inconsistent with Bledsoe out of the lineup. In his last 7 games, he has 3 games under 30 FP’s and 3 games over 40 FP’s. While his recent performance suggests he is a boom or bust type of option, I think you can safely count on him tonight in cash games.

New York

The Knicks have a favorable matchup tonight against the Suns who are one of the fastest-paced teams in the league. Two Knicks’ players are questionable for tonight’s game: Tyson Chandler and Beno Udrih. If Chandler is out, give a nice boost to both Kenyon Martin and Andrea Bargnani and if Udrih is out, give a small boost to Raymond Felton. Carmelo Anthony makes a solid play once again tonight and should see a spike in rebounds if Chandler can’t play.

Raymond Felton – Felton has really been playing well for the Knicks and has given Melo some help offensively down the stretch of games. Felton is affordable across the industry and should play well tonight against the Suns who are ranked 20th against PG’s this season.

Washington at Chicago

Vegas Line – Chicago -3, 181.5 Over/Under
Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Booker-Gortat
Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah

Washington

The Wizards and Bulls are two of the slower paced teams in the league and that really shows up in the total for this game. The total is set at only 181 points and this game is expected to be won on the defensive end of the court. The good news, if there is any, is that the game is expected to stay close. The Bulls rank in the top 6 at defending every position on the floor except for SF.

Trevor Ariza – Ariza appears to have come out of that mini-slump that he had. He’s played well over his past couple of starts and I like his price tag on most sites. Ariza is one of those players that can fill up all areas of the stat sheet which gives him a very high ceiling.

Chicago

The Bulls are 3 point favorites tonight and even though total is low, the total for Bulls’ games are always relatively low. I think there are a couple of decent plays here. The Wizards have defended the post pretty well this season, ranking 8th against Centers and 15th against PF’s. I think there are better options in the price ranges of both Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer.

Jimmy Butler – Butler is expected to play tonight and I don’t expect him to be on any kind of minutes restriction. With Deng gone, Butler has been playing around 40 minutes per game which really helps his fantasy value. For his price, you aren’t going to find another player that sees the type of minutes that Butler does.

Kirk Hinrich – Since the Deng trade, Hinrich has played at least 30 minutes in every game. He has also averaged around 18 fantasy points during that stretch. I think he offers great value on sites across the board and I really like his price on DS, DK, and FD tonight.

San Antonio at New Orleans

Vegas Line – San Antonio -6, 199 Over/Under
San Antonio Proj. Starters – Parker-Belinelli-Leonard-Diaw-Duncan
New Orleans Proj. Starters – Roberts-Evans-Aminu-Davis-Smith

San Antonio

The Spurs are coming off of a big win last night, but it didn’t come without a cost. Danny Green has a fracture in his hand and he is going to miss the next 4 weeks or so. In addition, the Spurs could be without Manu Ginobili again, he is currently listed as questionable, but the Spurs will err on the side of caution with him. Those two injuries really give a major fantasy boost to both Kawhi Leonard and Marco Belinelli. I think they both make solid options tonight. Tim Duncan is also in play, but I’m always a little scared about using him in a back to back situation.

Tony Parker – Parker has a nice matchup against the Pelicans who are without their best on ball defender (Jrue Holiday). Parker played well in last night’s win and should be able to keep it going tonight in what is expected to be a pretty high scoring game. Look for Parker to be a bit more aggressive offensively with all of the injuries to the Spurs.

New Orleans

The Pelicans have a tough matchup against the Spurs, but the Vegas total and the DvP rankings tell two different stories. The DvP ranks say to stay away from the Pelicans, while the total suggests that as a team they should score a decent number of points tonight. I’m sort of in the middle on where I stand with them tonight, but the injuries definitely open up some fantasy opportunities. The Pelicans will be without Jrue Holiday again and Tyreke Evans is currently listed as questionable. If Evans is out again, look for Brian Roberts and Eric Gordon to see all of the minutes they can handle.

Al-Farouq Aminu – I’m not sure I will be paying the price for Anthony Davis tonight, but I do like quite a few value plays on the Pelicans. Like I mentioned above, both Roberts and Gordon make nice plays and Aminu does as well. Aminu is playing big minutes with all of the injuries to the Pelicans lineup and is a very good defender that can rack up both blocks and steals. I think he easily tops 20 FP’s tonight.