NBA Grind Down: Monday, January 20th - Page 2
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New Orleans at Memphis
- Vegas Line – Memphis -8, 192 Over/Under
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Roberts-Gordon-Aminu-Davis-Smith
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Prince-Randolph-Gasol
New Orleans
The Pelicans just can’t catch a break. They will be without 3 of their 7 main contributors tonight. Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson, and Jason Smith will all be out for the next little while. Their absence really helps the fantasy value of quite a few players though. The Grizzlies are a tough defensive team and now that they have Gasol back as their anchor, I expect them to vault into the top 10 in these DvP rankings.
- Al-Farouq Aminu – Aminu is probably the only Pelicans players that I will be heavily targeting tonight. With all of the injuries to the team, he is going to get all of the minutes he can handle. He is one of the best cash game plays on the board.
Memphis
The Grizzlies have a favorable matchup against the Pelicans, but with Marc Gasol back, the Grizzlies are going to get back to their style of play of slowing the pace down and playing great defense. Gasol also hurts the fantasy value of Zach Randolph. For me, I will just be avoiding all Grizzlies players. None of the matchups stand out to me.
Miami at Atlanta
- Vegas Line – Miami -5, 202 Over/Under
- Miami Proj. Starters – Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Antic
Miami
The Heat should be at full strength for today’s game against the Hawks. Dwyane Wade should be able to play and Mario Chalmers was back in the lineup last game. That doesn’t really bode well for their fantasy value though. Chris Bosh has been playing at a high level, but it’s hard for me to pay that price for him when he is really the 3rd option offensively.
- LeBron James – LeBron has topped 44 fantasy points in 7 straight games and has a huge chip on his shoulder right now. When Bron is locked in, there is no better player in the game. I like the matchup against the Hawks and think he should be treated as the top overall play tonight.
Atlanta
The Hawks take on a Heat defense that has been excellent all season long. When the Heat apply defensive pressure, teams really struggle to score the ball. Over the last 15 days, the Heat rank in the top 10 against every position on the floor. For that reason, I don’t see any plays here outside of GPP plays. I think Paul Millsap could play well, but the Hawks are tough to trust in cash games.
L.A.Lakers at Chicago
- Vegas Line – Chicago -9.5, 197 Over/Under
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Johnson-Gasol-Sacre
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers are 9.5 point underdogs, they are taking on a great defensive team, and they are facing one of the slowest paced teams in the league. It’s hard to find something to like about the Lakers’ fantasy value today. If you look at the Bulls DvP rankings, you will see a lot of rankings that are red. Red typically means you want to avoid that position. With the bad matchup and the potential blowout, I would steer clear of the Lakers.
Chicago
On the other hand, the Bulls have a terrific matchup. They are taking on one of the fastest paced teams in the league that also has one of the worst defenses in the league. I wouldn’t hesitate to use 2-3 Bulls in your lineups tonight. The Lakers are awful defensively against all positions. There are 6 viable fantasy options on the Bulls tonight. I like Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich, and Mike Dunleavy in this matchup. I happen to like Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah even more though.
- Jimmy Butler – As long as the Bulls aren’t up by more than 15, Butler is almost guaranteed to play 40 minutes. If you can take a cheap player that is guaranteed to play 40 minutes against one of the worst defenses in the league, it’s going to be hard to pass up.
- Joakim Noah – Dollar for dollar, Noah is my top play at Center tonight. He has really been playing well lately and should fill up the stat sheet against the Lakers. He may be over-priced on a few sites, but if he is affordable on the site that you are playing on, get him in your lineup.
Portland at Houston
- Vegas Line – Houston -2.5, 219 Over/Under
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Portland
The Blazers and Rockets have the highest total of the night. It’s set at 219 points which means there should be a ton of fantasy points to go around in this one. The Rockets have defended PG’s fairly well this season, but I wouldn’t rule out Damian Lillard. He should be able to get his own shot whenever he wants it against Lin.
- LaMarcus Aldridge – The Rockets have been at the bottom of the league at defending PF’s all season long. They have given up the 3rd most FP’s to PF’s this season and Aldridge should be in for a huge night tonight. He has had an incredible season and he should be able to top 40 FP’s here.
- Wesley Matthews – Matthews is averaging close to 16 actual points per game this season. I like the matchup against Harden who takes way too many risks defensively. I have a feeling that Harden is going to over-help which will lead to a few open 3’s for Matthews.
Houston
The Rockets are in a favorable spot tonight, but their salaries have gone through the roof. James Harden, Dwight Howard, and Terrence Jones are all extremely pricey around the industry. Chandler Parsons makes a solid play though, even against Batum I think he will play well here. Jeremy Lin is the one exception in terms of rising prices, he is extremely cheap and makes a nice GPP play tonight.
- James Harden – Harden is one of the top plays tonight. He’s a bit cheaper than the likes of Curry, James, Griffin, and Aldridge, yet he could end up outscoring all of them. Harden should be locked and loaded for a 40+ fantasy point performance.
Indiana at Golden State
- Vegas Line – EVEN SPREAD, 197.5 OVER/UNDER
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut
Indiana
The last game of the night features two opposing styles of play. When you have a slow paced team that takes on a fast paced team, the result typically ends up being somewhere in the middle. That means that if this game is played at an average pace of the two teams, the Pacers will see an increase in possessions and the Warriors will see a decrease in their numbers of possessions. That means, give a nice boost to the Pacers and a slight decrease to the fantasy value of the Warriors.
- Paul George – This is one of those games where you throw out the DvP rankings. George is the Pacers best player and they will go to him early and often. He can do so much on the floor that even if his shot isn’t falling, he should be able to contribute elsewhere.
- Lance Stephenson – What a season this guy is having. He is the talk of the NBA right now and for good reason. Look for him to continue his hot play tonight against the Warriors. His price is very cheap on DK today.
Golden State
The Warriors have a very tough matchup. I mentioned the fact that they will likely see a decrease in their possessions. It’s also worth mentioning that the Pacers are ranked in the top 5 against every position on the floor. It’s not a great matchup for the Warriors. The one play that I would consider here is Andre Iguodala, he can fill up the stat sheet and should see big minutes as they will need his defense on both George and Stephenson.