NBA Grind Down: Saturday, December 13th - Page Two
All stat chart buttons below open in an in-screen popup window and include stat tables for all games on the given page of the Grind Down Article
Memphis at Philadelphia
- Vegas Line – Memphis -11.5, 196 Over/Under
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Allen-Randolph-Gasol
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Thompson-Richard Mbah a Moute-Covington-Noel
| Memphis | Philadelphia | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 196 |  | Vegas Total | 196 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -11.5 | Vegas Sprd | 11.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 103.75 | Team Proj. | 92.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 94.06 | Team Pace | 99.65 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Mike Conley | Courtney Lee | Tony Allen | Zach Randolph | Marc Gasol | Proj Starter | Michael Carter-Williams | Hollis Thompson | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute | Robert Covington | Nerlens Noel | |
| Opp. Season | 9 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 14 | Opp. Season | 6 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 3 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 29 | 5 | Opp. Last 7 | 20 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 19 | |
Memphis
It took a couple overtime periods, but the Grizzlies were able to beat the Hornets last night in Memphis. While Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Tony Allen all saw over 40+ minutes each, Marc Gasol and Courtney Lee played close to their regular allotment of minutes. It would normally be near impossible for a team to play in two overtimes the night before and blow out a team on the road on the next day, but with the Sixers, you never know.
Elite Plays
Marc Gasol — It’s amazing what Gasol is doing without high rebounding totals recently. With how many shots they miss, the Sixers provide more rebound opportunities than anyone else in the league, so I expect Gasol to easily get himself a double-double while also providing fantasy value in other categories like blocks and assists.
Secondary Plays
Mike Conley — The concern about Conley is that he played 42 minutes last night, but even if his minutes are somewhat limited tonight, he has a great shot of reaching value on FD priced under $7,000. The Sixers do a poor job of protecting the ball, so Conley should be in line for at least a few steals to go with his offensive stats.
Philadelphia
The Sixers used Tony Wroten off the bench in his return last night and conservatively played him only 22 minutes. Robert Covington stole the show as a surprise addition to the starting lineup and ended up leading the team in scoring. He and and the Sixers will match up against a Memphis team that allows the second fewest points in the NBA.
Elite Plays
Robert Covington — You can’t expect him to have the game that he had last night, but even against Memphis, his price is too tough to pass up on if he remains in the starting lineup. Though Memphis has been a great defensive team, power forwards have been their weakness.
Secondary Plays
None
Denver at Houston
- Vegas Line – Houston -6, 207 Over/Under
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Afflalo-Chandler-Hickson-Mozgov
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Ariza-Motiejunas-Black
| Denver | Houston | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 207 |  | Vegas Total | 207 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 6.00 | Vegas Sprd | -6.00 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 100.5 | Team Proj. | 106.5 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 98.35 | Team Pace | 96.84 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Ty Lawson | Arron Afflalo | Wilson Chandler | J.J. Hickson | Timofey Mozgov | Proj Starter | Patrick Beverley | James Harden | Trevor Ariza | Donatas Motiejunas | Tarik Black | |
| Opp. Season | 2 | 14 | 22 | 19 | 4 | Opp. Season | 22 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 25 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 29 | 6 | 28 | 16 | 1 | Opp. Last 7 | 21 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 25 | |
Denver
Denver and Houston face off tonight in a game that should see a lot of scoring. Denver likes to run an up-tempo offense, and Houston has been similar with Dwight Howard out. Production on the Nuggets has been tough to project for most of the season, but Wilson Chandler has proven to be a consistent target over the last few weeks.
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
Wilson Chandler — Houston has actually been very efficient on defense this year, but their weakness has been defending the small forward position.
Houston
The injuries in Houston just continue to pile up, so the sooner that Howard is able to come back, the better. He’s listed as doubtful to play tonight, but earlier in the week had been pointing to this game to return. Kostas Papanikolaou, Francisco Garcia and Isaiah Canaan have already been ruled out, but a Dwight Howard return would significantly downgrade everyone else on the team.
Elite Plays
Patrick Beverley — Beverley has exceeded value every game since returning from injury. He should be in your lineups until his price catches up.
James Harden — For as long as Howard remains sidelined, Harden will continue to have one of the highest floors out there. His price makes rostering him challenging, but he’s usually worth the salary shedding that you need to make happen on the rest of your lineup.
Secondary Plays
Donatas Motiejunas — With Howard out, it’s really rare that Motiejunas will kill your cash game lineup. He’s usually hovering around 25-30 points, and at under $6,000 on both FD and DK, that’s all you need.
Detroit at Sacramento
- Vegas Line – Sacramento -6.5, 194 Over/Under
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Collison-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Evans
| Detroit | Sacramento | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 194 |  | Vegas Total | 194 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 6.5 | Vegas Sprd | -6.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 93.75 | Team Proj. | 100.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 94.48 | Team Pace | 95.68 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Brandon Jennings | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Josh Smith | Greg Monroe | Andre Drummond | Proj Starter | Darren Collison | Ben McLemore | Rudy Gay | Jason Thompson | Reggie Evans | |
| Opp. Season | 10 | 26 | 7 | 29 | 6 | Opp. Season | 16 | 20 | 9 | 23 | 26 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 3 | 30 | 3 | 21 | 11 | Opp. Last 7 | 28 | 2 | 12 | 23 | 18 | |
Detroit
The Pistons continue to move Greg Monroe in and out of the starting lineup, and he was in last night for the win against the Phoenix Suns. It was Andre Drummond that took control though with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Facing the Kings tonight without DeMarcus Cousins, the Pistons frontcourt will have a major advantage again the in paint.
Elite Plays
Andre Drummond — Drummond continues to only be an option for me in GPP lineups due to his inability to avoid foul trouble, but his ceiling might be the highest among all centers. The Kings don’t have anyone that matches up well against Drummond with Cousins out. He’s got a great price tag on FanDuel of $7,700 where he reached 44.3 FD points last night.
Secondary Plays
None
Sacramento
Without Cousins, the Kings have been leaning heavily on Rudy Gay. The production has been a little inconsistent probably due to the Achilles injury that he’s playing through, but it doesn’t stop him from getting shots up. Reggie Evans and Jason Thompson have been worth turning to for cap relief lately and will continue to have value until their salaries catch up to their production sans-Cousins.
Elite Plays
Darren Collison — Despite two 40+ point outputs in his last two games, Collison has seen his price actually drop on DraftKings. On what I can only assume is a pricing error, I’ll be rostering him heavily there. His usage rate is up with Cousins out and faces a weak defender in Brandon Jennings.
Jason Thompson — Thompson has been below 24 points on DK only once in his last five games, making him a great, cheap power forward at $4,600. We don’t know who he will be matched up against since the Pistons don’t stick to the same frontcourt every night, but this is purely a minutes play anyway. When he’s playing 30+ minutes per game, he’s a great option.
Secondary Plays
Rudy Gay — Despite the foot injury that Gay is dealing with, the offense still runs through him. This is a pretty tough matchup for him, but he’s the best option for people that have the money to spend at small forward tonight.