NBA Grind Down: Monday, November 18th
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
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Portland at Brooklyn
Portland
The Blazers are coming off of a win yesterday, but now have to travel to Brooklyn for a back to back. This would typically be a tough spot, but the Nets are so banged up that I expect the Blazers to win this one as well. Vegas thinks this should be a very close game that is fairly high scoring and I tend to agree. I think this game has the most fantasy options of all of the games on the schedule tonight.
- Nicolas Batum – Batum will either be matchup up with Paul Pierce or Alan Anderson. I think he has a huge advantage over either of them. Batum is coming off one of his best games of the season and I think he plays well again tonight. Look for him to force some turnovers and get some open looks from downtown.
- Damian Lillard – Aldridge is also a decent play, but Garnett is the best defender that the Nets have so I will give the edge to Lillard. He has a favorable matchup against Livingston and Lillard has really improved on his all around game this season. He is padding the stat sheet and making plays on both ends.
Brooklyn
We all knew that this Nets team was going to have injury problems throughout the season, but if the first few weeks are any indication of how the season is going to go, the backups better be ready to play some big minutes. The Nets are going to be without Brook Lopez, Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, and possibly Paul Pierce tonight. With only six games on the schedule, the Nets should be the team you are targeting the most tonight, there is value all over the place.
- Shaun Livingston – Livingston will get the start for D-Will again tonight and he’s played very good in his last two with D-Will out. Livingston has averaged close to 30 FP’s in his last two and has a great chance to get there again tonight against the Blazers. With all of the injuries, there isn’t really anyone behind him to challenge him for minutes.
- Andray Blatche – Blatche has always been a player that fills in well as a spot starter, but for some reason he just can’t keep that production up for an entire season. But all we care about is his matchup tonight. The Blazers are not great against Centers and Blatche should easily cover value with the potential to do a lot more.
- Joe Johnson – I also want to put Alan Anderson name in the mix, but Johnson has the better upside of the two. He is a former All-Star that used to average close to 25 points per game. The Nets should rely on him offensively and this is a good spot for him to finally break out.
Charlotte at Chicago
Charlotte
The Bobcats are going to be without Al Jefferson again tonight. It’s definitely not what they were hoping for when they signed him to that big contract in the offseason. Look for Bismack Biyombo, Josh McRoberts, and Cody Zeller to all pick up some minutes, but none of them are great fantasy options against this tough Bulls defense. The Bulls are favored by 12 in this one and it’s expected to be a low scoring game. Both of which are signs that are telling us to stay away from the Bobcats tonight.
Chicago
The Bulls have a couple of interesting plays tonight and it starts with their star PG Derrick Rose. He has still yet to have a great game, but is trending in the right direction with over 25 FP’s in each of his last two games. His price has fallen across the industry making him a very enticing play tonight against this bad defense. I do think that he has value tonight even with the blowout potential thanks to his low price tag. In addition to Rose, one other play stands out with the Bobcats DvP ranking of 25 against opposing SF’s.
- Luol Deng – I typically like Deng better when there is an injury in the lineup, but one of my favorite reasons to take Deng is that he usually sees 35+ minutes even in blowouts. Each of the last 5 Bulls games have been decided by 10 or more points and Deng is averaging over 35 minutes in those game. While the other starters usually get benched in blowouts, Deng is always out there making him a great play tonight.
Denver at Oklahoma City
Denver
The Nuggets have looked much better in their last few games and a big part of that has to do with Wilson Chandler. He’s seen more minutes in each of the last three games and now will be moved into the starting lineup over Jordan Hamilton. The Nuggets have a tough matchup against the Thunder, but if they can manage to keep it close, there are good fantasy options on both teams. Vegas has this game projected as the second highest scoring game of the night with a total of 211 points.
- Wilson Chandler – Now that Chandler is back in the starting lineup, his fantasy value gets an immediate boost. He has played well off the bench this season and now should see a season high in minutes. He will be tasked with guarding KD, but if he can stay out of foul trouble, he should post some solid numbers on the offensive end.
- J.J. Hickson – I think that Ty Lawson has priced himself out in this one. He’s played great over the last few games and his price now reflects that production. Instead, I’d rather go the cheaper route here and take a chance on Hickson. Hickson has played over 27 minutes in each of the last two games and has scored over 27 FP’s in each of the last two. I like the matchup against Perkins and/or Adams.
Oklahoma City
The Thunder look a lot like the team from last season. They have really picked up their tempo with Westbrook back in their lineup and both Westbrook and Durant are seeing close to 20 shot attempts per game. They have an excellent matchup tonight against the Nuggets and with both of these teams playing at a pace of at least 99 possessions per 48 minutes, this should be a high scoring game.
- Russell Westbrook – Westbrook is still only shooting 41% from the field, but his shot has started to fall over the last couple of games. He will have a huge size advantage over Lawson tonight and those pull up jumpers will be there any time that he wants them. He’s averaged over 37 FP’s per game against the Nuggets in his career.
- Serge Ibaka – You can never go wrong with Durant here, but the Nuggets best defender will be on him. Instead, trust the DvP rankings and go inside with Ibaka. The Nuggets have had the worst interior defense of any team this season and Ibaka has scored 40+ FP’s in three of his last four games. The matchup bodes well for Ibaka.
Philadelphia at Dallas
Philadelphia
This game is projected to be the highest scoring game of the night and rightly so. The Sixers are playing at an extremely quick pace (102) and are giving up the most points per game of any team this season. They are letting opponents get easy buckets and then pushing the ball to try to get easy buckets of their own. The Sixers have been my favorite team to see on the schedule as they open up quite a few fantasy options every night that they play. One quick note, Michael Carter-Williams has been ruled out of tonight’s game.
- Tony Wroten – Wroten has a few things in his favor tonight. His price has risen across the board, but he’s still underpriced for the starting PG on one of the highest scoring teams in the league. He’s played very well in his last few starts and has a size and quickness advantage over Calderon. Keep playing him as a 25-30 FP a night option.
- Evan Turner – Turner is at his best when he is in the open floor. Both of these teams like to push the pace and Turner should have a field day in this one. The Mavs are ranked 27th against opposing SF’s this season and Turner should be able to fill up the stat sheet. I’m looking for a game that is in the range of 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and a couple of steals/blocks.
Dallas
The Mavericks are also one of the fastest paced teams in the league at 100 possessions per 48 minutes. They have been pushing the tempo and should have no problem scoring over 100 points tonight against the Sixers who are allowing the most points per game in the league. There are a few different options that you can go with here as the Sixers rank in the bottom half of the league against every single position. However, the positions that have the best matchups are PG, SG, and SF.
- Monta Ellis – Ellis is my favorite play across the board tonight if you factor in prices. I think he has the potential to be the highest scoring player on the board, yet you can take him for much cheaper than the Durant’s and Chris Paul. The Sixers rank 28th against SG’s this season and Monta is at his best in fast-paced, uptempo style games. I’m going out on a limb here and saying that he tops 30 actual points tonight.
- Shawn Marion – Marion has flown under the radar all season long. He’s already had 4 games with over 30 FP’s and he’s been a very consistent option at SF. His price is very reasonable on most sites and he gives you nice upside with his juicy matchup against the bad Sixers defense.
Golden State at Utah
Golden State
The Warriors and Jazz met just the other night and the Warriors came out on top fairly easily with a 14 point win. I expect this game to be much closer though as the Jazz play much better at home than they do on the road. Vegas has the Warriors favored by 8, but that seems a little steep to me. If I were a betting man, I would like my chances with the Jazz +8. What I’m trying to say is that I think the Warriors starters are all in play because I’m not too worried about a blowout here.
- Andre Iguodala – With the exception of the season opener, Iguodala has played at least 33 minutes in every single game this season which is really impressive considering how many blowouts the Warriors have been in already. He’s getting the minutes and he should see close to 40 tonight if this one stays close. Iguodala has put over over 30 FP’s in each of his last 4 games and makes a great play against the Jazz who struggle against SF’s.
Utah
The Jazz have had 8 of their 10 losses decided by 9 or more points. While that’s not a very promising stat to hear, I’m telling you that they will play well and be competitive in tonight’s game. The Jazz have played much better at home and have a solid matchup against the fast-paced Warriors. With Alec Burks now in the starting lineup, I expect him to start putting up some better numbers and that could start tonight, but he’s not my favorite play here.
- Derrick Favors – Favors is one of the more talented young big men in the league and the fact that he plays on a bad team only helps his fantasy value. He’s really turned it on the last 4 games averaging over 40 FP’s per game in that stretch. Treat him as a medium risk, high reward option at PF tonight.
Memphis at L.A.Clippers
Memphis
The Grizzlies seem to establish their pace of play regardless of their opponent, but it will be interesting to see if they can do that tonight against the Clippers who are the league’s highest scoring team. The matchup for the Grizzlies lines up well as the Clippers are more concerned with offense than they are defense. I think both Mike Conley and Zach Randolph are in play, but Marc Gasol gets the nod as the top Grizzlies play tonight.
- Marc Gasol – Marc has really been playing great basketball lately. He’s averaging close to 40 FP’s over his last 3 games and is one of those Centers that is pretty matchup-proof because of his style of play. The Grizzlies don’t require him to get his own shots in the post. His shots come through the offense and his ability to defense (blocks/steals) really helps his fantasy value.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers are favored by 8.5 in this game tonight and I can’t decide which side of the fence I am on with that line. The Grizzlies are playing in a back to back, but are a great defensive team that rarely gets blown out. Either way, I don’t love the matchup for the Clippers. All of their players are priced so high that they need a good matchup in order for there to be enough fantasy points to go around. I just don’t see anyone making value here with the Grizzlies slowing the pace down. For that reason, I will be avoiding the Clippers tonight.