NBA Grind Down: Monday, January 20th
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 Cleveland
- Vegas Line – Dallas -1.5, 209 Over/Under
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Miles-Deng-Thompson-Varejao
Dallas
Martin Luther King day means a full slate of day games. This is always one of my favorite days for fantasy basketball because we can sit back and watch games all day long. Or even if you are at work, pull up the gamecast and open up a random spreadsheet so it looks like you are working.
The Mavericks take on the Cavs today in what should be one of the highest scoring games of the day. Both of these teams like to push the pace and the Cavs have played much better at home this season. The Cavs have been average at defending SG’s and PF’s, but have really struggled to defend PG’s and SF’s. I will be avoiding the PG situation though, Devin Harris is finally back and Shane Larkin has been playing well. Both of which hurt the value of Jose Calderon.
- Shawn Marion – Even with Deng in the lineup, the Cavs have struggled to defend the SF position. Marion has been playing well of late and is extremely cheap across the board. I really like his value on sites like FD & DK where he should easily be able to cover his value.
Cleveland
The Cavs are also in a favorable position tonight. The Mavericks have been very average defensively this season, they are ranked between 16th and 19th against every position. Anderson Varejao looks like a solid play again today, he is one of the few players in the league that you can count on for 10 points and at least 12 rebounds. He makes a great cash game play.
- Kyrie Irving – Irving has been very up and down this season, but he has averaged a full 10 more fantasy points per game at home than he does on the road. That’s one of the biggest home/road split differences in the league. I like his matchup against Calderon and Larkin and think he takes over in the second half.
L.A.Clippers at Detroit
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Collison-Redick-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers are decent favorites in this game, but the Pistons should be able to keep this game close. The total is set at 207 points which is favorable for fantasy basketball. The Pistons have been awful defensively this season. They are ranked below average against every position on the floor except for defending SG’s. Continue using Darren Collison on sites where his price hasn’t been adjusted to his production (StarStreet specifically).
- Blake Griffin – Griffin continues to post incredible numbers and his salary has come up to a Kevin Love type of number. Griffin has a great matchup tonight against Monroe and he should fill up the stat sheet once again. The Pistons are a turnover prone team and I could see him getting a few steals and a few highlight dunks.
Detroit
The Pistons are a tough team to predict. I’ve struggled to predict their fantasy production on a nightly basis all season long. They have 4 All-Star caliber players, yet consistency is no where to be found. The Clippers really defend the PG position well so I would avoid Brandon Jennings with all of the other options at PG tonight. I do like Andre Drummond for GPP’s today though, the Clippers have struggled against Centers and Drummond should have a big day on the glass.
Toronto at Charlotte
- Vegas Line – Toronto -5, 187 Over/Under
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Sessions-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson
Toronto
The Raptors had a disappointing loss to the Lakers yesterday and now travel to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats today. Both of these teams play with a slow pace as they both average 95 possessions or less per game. The two positions to target against the Bobcats are PG’s and Centers. However, I don’t love the Jonas Valanciunas play, he is not seeing consistent enough minutes with Patrick Patterson playing so well off of the bench.
- Kyle Lowry – Lowry is one of my favorite plays because he is so consistent and does so many things on the floor that he can rack up fantasy points in more areas than your typical PG. The Bobcats have been below average at defending PG’s this season and Lowry should be in for another big game.
Charlotte
The Bobcats have been playing some good basketball lately, even though they aren’t racking up a lot of wins, they are staying competitive and playing teams tough. They have a less than favorable matchup against the Raptors though. The Raptors rank in the top 10 at defending every position on the floor. You could take a flier on Gerald Henderson, but I just don’t love any of the Bobcats today.
Philadelphia at Washington
- Vegas Line – Washington -10, 207 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Philadelphia
The Sixers are everyone’s favorite team to see on the schedule. They are the fastest paced team in the league and are also the worst defensive team in the league. That lethal combo is a recipe for fantasy success. As far as fantasy options on the Sixers, the Wizards have been average against PG’s and have struggled to defend SF’s. Both Michael Carter-Williams and Evan Turner are in play. I really like Turner on sites where his price is depressed.
Washington
The Wizards are in a very favorable matchup. As we all know, the Sixers are bad defensively. They are historically bad. They rank in the bottom 3 against every single position on the floor. All five starters for the Wizards are in play tonight. Bradley Beal makes a nice under the radar type of play, Trevor Ariza has great upside in an uptempo game, and Marcin Gortat should be able to cover his value with that cheap price tag of his.
- John Wall – Wall is the top overall PG play today. He has a great matchup against the Sixers who have been ranked dead last against PG’s all season long. Wall will push the tempo and be responsible for a lot of buckets. 30 points and 10 assists isn’t out of the question.
- Nene Hilario – Nene is fully healthy and is playing a full complement of minutes. He has a down game in his last outing, but had really been playing well before that. He should get plenty of open looks today against this bad defense.
Brooklyn at New York
- Vegas Line – Brooklyn -2, 193 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Anderson-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
- New York Proj. Starters – Felton-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Chandler
Brooklyn
The Nets have won six of their last seven games and are actually favored against the Knicks today even with the game being played in MSG. Deron Williams is expected to be back in the lineup, which ends the run for Livingston as a value play. It also hurts Joe Johnson who will no longer be the main playmaker on offense. Williams being back really muddies up the fantasy water for this team. I’m going to take a wait and see approach with this one.
New York
The Knicks will be without Kenyon Martin and Amar’e Stoudemire today as they both have ankle injuries. This gives a nice boost to Tyson Chandler and Andrea Bargnani. They are priced similarly across the board, but Chandler is the much better play of the two.
- Carmelo Anthony – Even though the Nets have been very good defensively over the last 15 days. Good offense beats good defense every time. Melo will try to right the ship tonight. I also expect him to hit the glass hard as the Knicks will likely be a bit under-sized for a majority of the game.