NBA Grind Down: Saturday, December 14th
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
L.A.Lakers at Charlotte
- Vegas Line – Charlotte -3, 198 Over/Under
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Young-Bryant-Meeks-Williams-Gasol
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Taylor-McRoberts-Jefferson
L.A.Lakers
Both of these teams lost last night and both had to travel after the game to get to Charlotte. That means that both of these teams will be playing on tired legs and the first thing to go when you are tired is your defense. I like this to be a high scoring game and Vegas expects it to be close so this could be a sneaky game to target.
The Bobcats have defended quite a few positions well this season. They are ranked in the top 5 against PG’s, SG’s, and PF’s. That leaves us with Pau Gasol and Wesley Johnson having favorable matchups. It’s tough with the Lakers right now because other than Kobe and Pau, where is the production going to come from? Not only that, but most sites have Kobe priced for his production as of last season.
- Pau Gasol – Pau has been nursing an injury, but the good news for his status tonight is that they got blown out last night and Pau only had to play 23 minutes. This game should be much closer and I expect Pau to top 30 minutes in this one. You could take a chance on Jodie Meeks here as well, but Pau is the safer play by far.
Charlotte
The Bobcats and their struggling offense should be able to get things going tonight against the Lakers who own one of the worst defenses in the league. The Thunder could have put up 140 last night on the Lakers if they wanted to. The Lakers are so bad on defense, that they are becoming close to the level of the Sixers. They are ranked in the bottom 4 against every position except for SF’s this season. Josh McRoberts and Jeff Taylor both make nice value plays, but I’m targeting their best two players here:
- Kemba Walker – I always like taking Walker at home. Usually home/road splits don’t have much value, but Walker has played better at home for the last 2 years. And it’s not only a small difference, Walker is averaging a full 5 FP’s more at home this season than he is on the road. Also, the Lakers don’t have anyone that can guard him. Who is going to be able to stay in front of him? Meeks? Kobe?
- Al Jefferson – I’m not sure if I have taken Jefferson in a cash game this season, but tonight will be different. I love his matchup tonight and think he makes the top cash game play for Centers. The Lakers are giving up the 3rd most FP’s to Centers this season and Jefferson should be in for a big night offensively.
L.A.Clippers at Washington
- Vegas Line – L.A.Clippers -4, 194 Over/Under
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Crawford-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Webster-Ariza-Booker-Gortat
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers and Wizards are both teams that really looked to push the tempo early in the season and have since slowed it down. You can see this by looking at the total set for this game, Vegas only expects 194 points to be scored here. The Wizards have defended the three positions that we like to target from the Clippers. The Wizards are ranked in the top 11 against PG’s, PF’s, and Centers. That said, Chris Paul loves to prove that he is still the best PG in the NBA and Wall is closing the gap.
- Chris Paul – Paul has been a double-double machine all season long and he can really take over games offensively when he wants to. I love taking CP3 in games when he has something to prove and facing one of the best young PG’s in the league will make Paul want to prove something. Ignore the DvP rankings, Paul will post a 20, 12, and 5 night, book it.
Washington
The Wizards are slight underdogs in this one, but there are a couple of plays that stand out here. The Wizards were without Bradley Beal and Nene Hilario last night and my best guess would be that they will be without them again tonight. Check the latest injury news closer to tip-off though. The Wizards did get Martell Webster back in the lineup though and he didn’t have any setbacks last night. He becomes a viable fantasy option once again.
- Trevor Booker – As long as Nene sits out tonight, get Booker in your lineup. He has really played well in his two spot starts and would make one of the best value plays of the night. He’s averaging over 35 fantasy points in his last two starts.
- Martell Webster – I like Ariza in this one as well, but Webster is much cheaper than Ariza across the board. Webster came back and played 39 minutes in last night’s game and will see 35+ again tonight after experiencing no setbacks.
Cleveland at Miami
- Vegas Line – Miami -12.5, 198.5 Over/Under
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-Gee-Thompson-Bynum
- Miami Proj. Starters – Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh
Cleveland
This is just a bad situation for the Cavs. They are playing in a back to back situation and have to face the defending champs on their home court. Vegas has the line for this game set at 12.5, but I think the Heat will come out and end this game early. I think there is value in Kyrie Irving as a GPP play because he has finally found his rhythm, but avoid all of the Cavs for cash games.
Miami
The Heat are on the opposite side of this one. They are 12.5 point favorites and you know how I feel about teams that are big favorites. You don’t want to pay up for Lebron, Wade, or Bosh and have them sit the entire 4th quarter. There are 7 other games on the schedule tonight, just fade this game completely and thank me later.
Atlanta at New York
- Vegas Line – Atlanta -1, 193.5 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Horford
- New York Proj. Starters – Prigioni-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Martin
Atlanta
The Hawks and Knicks both played last night and both had to travel to New York. Vegas has this one as a very close game which is always good to see from a fantasy perspective. The Knicks have defended big men well this season, but they haven’t faced many frontcourt combo’s like Millsap and Horford. Of the two, I think Al Horford has the much better matchup. Regardless of what the DvP rankings say, Bargnani is not a great defender. Horford makes a nice play in cash games.
- Jeff Teague – Teague is one of my favorite plays tonight. His price is depressed across the board and he has an excellent matchup against the non-intimidating backcourt combo of Prigioni and Udrih. Teague has a great shot of topping 30 FP’s here.
New York
The Knicks continue to be a mess after last night’s collapse against the Celtics. At least they get to go back home and get right back at it tonight. I like the matchup against fairly uptempo Hawks. The Hawks have not defended any single position well and you have your choice of favorable matchups when it comes to the Knicks’ players tonight. I do like Pablo Prigioni as a value play, but only expect between 15-20 FP’s.
- Carmelo Anthony – Melo has a solid matchup and great upside tonight against the Knicks. He’s really their only consistent option offensively and with Prigioni starting at the point, the offense seems to run through Melo on almost every play. He should top 30 points so as long as he can fill up the other areas of the stat sheet, he will have another big fantasy performance.
Toronto at Chicago
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Dunleavy-Deng-Boozer-Noah
Toronto
The Raptors trade rumors continue to swirl, but as we saw last night, they will continue to give Kyle Lowry big minutes up until the time that they trade him. For that reason, Lowry will be in play again tonight as long as he’s in the lineup. This game isn’t very appealing fantasy wise though. Both of these teams are slow paced and both of them have above average defenses. Vegas has the total set at 187 points which is by far the lowest of the night. For me, the Raptors are overpriced for their matchup.
Chicago
The Bulls are finally starting to get healthy again which is good for them, but bad for their fantasy value. Jimmy Butler was back in the lineup last night and it looks like Luol Deng is very close to returning as well. With Butler back, you can safely avoid the likes of Tony Snell and Mike Dunleavy. Their run as value plays is over now that they will see less minutes. The bigs of the Bulls have a tough matchup against the big front line of the Raptors. I do like Kirk Hinrich as a value play, but he’s in a tough matchup against Lowry.