NBA Grind Down: Saturday, December 21st Page Two
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Cleveland at Chicago
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-Gee-Thompson-Bynum
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Augustin-Butler-Deng-Boozer-Noah
Cleveland
Vegas has the Bulls favored by 3 in this game with the over/under set at 186 points. It is expected to be a low scoring game which really hurts the value of both teams. Kyrie Irving has been on fire, but I think he comes back down to Earth a little bit in this one. The combination of the slow pace and the matchup make me want to avoid him tonight. Andrew Bynum and Tristan Thompson both make decent value plays, but for the most part, you can safely avoid all Cavs tonight.
Chicago
We don’t have an official update on the status of Kirk Hinrich, but the last update said that he apparently wasn’t getting any better. My guess would be that he sits this one out, but make sure to check the injury news closer to tip-off. If he sits, continue to use D.J. Augusin as a value play. It also sounds like Luol Deng will sit out tonight’s game. The Cavs have been one of the worst teams defensively and rank in the bottom 10 against every position except for Center.
- Carlos Boozer – Boozer has a great matchup tonight against the Cavs who rank 20th against PF’s. Noah will be locked up with Bynum and I think Boozer outproduces him tonight.
- Jimmy Butler – If Deng and Hinrich both sit, that opens up a ton of minutes and Butler will get plenty of them. Check the injury news closer to tip-off and plug him in if they end up sitting out. UPDATE – Butler may sit out tonight, if he does, plug in Dunleavy and/or Snell
Philadelphia at Milwaukee
- Vegas Line – Milwaukee -2, 201.5 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Turner-Thompson-Young-Hawes
- Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Antetokounmpo-Butler-Udoh-Henson
Philadelphia
This is another game that is expected to be close and fairly high scoring. The bad news for the Sixers is that the Bucks play at an extremely slow pace. That means that they are going to see less possessions than their season average. While that does hurt their value, the Bucks are awful against SF’s and Centers and I think both Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes are in play, with Hawes being my favorite of the two.
- Spencer Hawes – Hawes almost put up a triple-double last night and I expect him to pick up right where he left off last night. The Bucks are giving up the most FP’s in the league to Centers this season and Hawes is under-priced on most sites.
Milwaukee
Brandon Knight is really playing at a high level right now and now gets to face the Sixers who have given up the most FP’s to PG’s this season. I love the matchup and the upside for him tonight. I also like O.J. Mayo and Khris Middleton as value plays.
- John Henson – Henson should really play well in this type of game. With the Sixers being such a fast paced team, that just means more opportunities for rebounds and blocks. His price has really risen, but he should post another monster double-double tonight.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- San Antonio Proj. Starters – Mills-Belinelli-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter
Oklahoma City
The Thunder and Spurs are arguably the two best teams in the West and tonight’s game should be a fun one as long as Pop doesn’t do anything crazy. The Spurs are ranked in the top 10 against every position except for PG this season, and Westbrook is really the only fantasy option that stands out here.
- Russell Westbrook – Westbrook has really been playing well lately and draws a great matchup against Parker and the Spurs who are ranked 21st against PG’s this season. Westbrook should be able to create his own shot any time that he wants it and my guess is that the Spurs will put an emphasis on slowing Durant down.
San Antonio
The Spurs are in a favorable position. They are 3 point favorites and both teams are expected to score close to 100 points. The Thunder have really struggled against two positions this season: PG and PF. Tony Parker is going to be re-evaluated before tonight’s game so check his status closer to tip-off. If he sits out, look for Patty Mills to pick up the slack offensively.
- Tim Duncan – It’s hard to believe that Duncan is still playing at the level that he is. He is still posting monster numbers and should be well rested for tonight’s game after sitting out Thursday’s game for precautionary reasons. The Thunder struggle against PF’s and Duncan should be able to exploit that.
Dallas at Phoenix
- Vegas Line – Phoenix -2, 208.5 Over/Under
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Bledsoe-Dragic-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
Dallas
The Mavs are coming off of a tough overtime loss last night and now have to travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns who have been playing some good basketball lately. The matchup lines up well for both teams, but the positions that the Suns defend well are the positions of the Mavs best fantasy options. Monta Ellis, Dirk Nowitzki, and Shawn Marion all have less than favorable matchups tonight. Of the three though, Marion is my favorite.
Phoenix
The Suns are coming off of a big win in Denver and will now look to knock off the Mavericks. The Mavericks haven’t defended any position well except for PF which is a big strange considering the fact that Dirk is arguably their worst defender. Goran Dragic is in play here, but my favorite has to be Bledsoe.
- Eric Bledsoe – Bledsoe was a bit letdown last night, but I expect him to have a big bounce back game tonight against Monta Ellis. Ellis has never been known as a good defender and Bledsoe should get back to putting up 30+ FP games.
New Orleans at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -9, 210.5 Over/Under
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Holiday-Gordon-Aminu-Davis-Smith
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
New Orleans
The Pelicans are in a tough spot tonight. The good news is that both of these teams love to push the pace, the bad news is that the Blazers are favored by 9 which brings in the blowout potential. With Anthony Davis back, it really hurts the value of Ryan Anderson and Jason Smith. Davis will likely still be on a minutes cap so avoid all three of those players. The one player to target here would be Jrue Holiday, the Blazers have not defended PG’s well this season.
Portland
The Blazers are in a great spot tonight, but I am a little worried about a potential blowout. Damian Lillard has been on an absolute tear in the last two games, but his price has gone up and I think there are better options in his new price range. LaMarcus Aldridge is also still a bit too expensive for me. I really like Nicolas Batum here though, with Davis back, look for Aminu to see less minutes and that’s good news for Batum’s fantasy value.