NBA Grind Down: Saturday, December 7th
Editor Note: Make Sure to tune into LIVE Coverage of the FFFC Finals from Las Vegas this Sunday on Grinders Live. Someone is walking away with $1,000,000!
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
Denver at Philadelphia
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Foye-Chandler-Faried-Hickson
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Wroten-Turner-Thompson-Young-Hawes
Denver
If there were ever a game to stack in the NBA, this would be it. Both of these teams love to push the pace and Vegas has the over/under of this one set at an incredible 214 points. One of my favorite strategies is to take PG’s against the Sixers and that will continue tonight. The Sixers rank 30th against PG’s, SG’, and SF’s and rank in the bottom 8 against PF’s and Centers. Everywhere is in play here.
- Ty Lawson – Hard to argue with Lawson tonight. Even though he has been in a slump, every PG that faces this Sixers defense goes off for a big game. Their transition defense has to be the worst in years and PG’s are racking up career numbers against this team. UPDATE: Lawson is a GTD tonight, so check his status closer to tipoff
- Wilson Chandler – Pretty much everyone has a good game against the Sixers and their defense that is allowing 110 points per game. Chandler is cheap across the board and looks like a great play tonight.
- J.J. Hickson – I’m a little worried about Hickson’s minutes here as both of these teams will likely play some small ball at some point, but you have to love his upside in this matchup.
Philadelphia
The Sixers are the fastest paced team in the league which is why they are always involved in such high scoring games. It is always a fantasy gold mine when you see them on the schedule. They have a nice matchup tonight against the Nuggets who also like to push the pace. It sounds like Michael Carter-Williams will sit tonight’s game out, so adjust your lineups accordingly.
- Tony Wroten – How can you not play him tonight? He’s coming off of a monster game last night and is still dirt cheap across the industry. He will be the most popular value play, but is not a player that you should avoid hoping to outsmart everyone.
- Evan Turner – Turner seems to have the ball in his hands more when MCW isn’t on the court and this is a nice matchup for him. I think he fills up the stat sheet and puts up something in the range of 20, 6, and 6. Nice upside for Turner tonight.
- Spencer Hawes – Hawes continues to put up big numbers thanks to his ability to both stretch the floor and score down low. He has a nice matchup against the Nuggets who have really struggled to defend big men this season.
L.A.Clippers at Cleveland
- Vegas Line – L.A.Clippers -6, 196.5 Over/Under
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Crawford-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-Gee-Thompson-Bynum
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers take on a very inconsistent Cavs team tonight. After beating the Nuggets, the Cavs forgot to show up in Atlanta against the Hawks. This game could easily turn into a blowout, but something tells me that the Cavs will be able to keep it close. The Cavs have defended Centers well, but have been below average against both PG’s and PF’s and those just so happen to be the positions of the Clippers two best players.
- Chris Paul – Paul is a threat to put up a double-double every time he takes the floor. He is playing at an incredible level and leads the league in touches per game so the Clippers go as Paul goes. He has a favorable matchup against Kyrie who has not played good defense this season.
- Blake Griffin – Griffin seems to fly under the radar for whatever reason. Maybe it’s the high price tag, maybe it’s the fact that his offensive game is pretty limited, but either way, he is usually under-owned and he’s put up quite a few 40+ FP games this season. The Cavs don’t defend PF’s well and Griffin should have himself a merry little game.
Cleveland
The Cavs are near the bottom of the league in scoring, but they do play much better at home. The good news for the Cavs is that Andrew Bynum is starting to play at a high level. He has finally become fantasy relevant again and now is the time to buy low on him. Kyrie Irving has been bad all season long and failed to score a single point in last night’s game. While I’d like to predict a bounce back game, he just hasn’t put 4 quarters together yet this season, so use him as a GPP only play.
- Andrew Bynum – Bynum is still on a minutes cap, but 25 minutes of Bynum playing at a high level is more than enough for him to post solid numbers. He’s averaged over 35 FP’s per game in his last 3 and should play well again tonight against the Clippers who are ranked dead last against opposing Centers.
Detroit at Chicago
- Vegas Line – Chicago -4.5, 189 Over/Under
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Stuckey-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Dunleavy-Deng-Boozer-Noah
Detroit
The Pistons continue their roller coaster season and the next stop is Chicago to face the Bulls. Vegas has this as a close, fairly low scoring game. My thoughts with the Pistons are the same as they have been the last few weeks. Unless they either have a great matchup or any of them are severely under-priced, they are too risky to trust in cash games. The two most reliable positions, PG and Center, have been defended well by the Bulls this season. I wouldn’t mind taking Andre Drummond or Greg Monroe in a GPP, but I’m staying away for cash games.
Chicago
The Bulls have a pretty solid matchup against the Pistons tonight. Jimmy Butler will be out once again so look for Hinrich, Dunleavy, and Snell to all see their usual allotment of minutes. The Pistons struggle against PG’s, SF’s, and Center and those are your best options in tonight’s game. While I don’t mind the Luol Deng play, his price has come up a bit too high for my liking.
- Kirk Hinrich – Hinrich is cheap across the board and has really played well as the starting PG. He can fill up the stat sheet and doesn’t rely on his offense for his fantasy point production. I like the price and think he will easily cover his value against the Pistons.
- Joakim Noah – Noah has really turned it on over the last week or so. Thibs is finally starting to play him big minutes like he has done in the past. When Noah plays 35+ minutes, it’s hard for him to not put up a solid stat line. He’s such a great hustle player that he will fill up the stat sheet when given minutes.
Golden State at Memphis
- Vegas Line – Memphis -1, 192 Over/Under
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Barnes-Lee-Bogut
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Allen-Prince-Randolph-Koufos
Golden State
I don’t know what happened to the Warriors last night, but only managing to put up 80 something points against the Rockets is not what I expected or was hoping for. Luckily for them, the NBA is a long season and they get to get back at it tonight. The Grizzlies have a very solid defense though and they like to play at a much slower pace. This will likely mean that the Warriors will see less possessions than their season average. I think Harrison Barnes is in play thanks to his cheap price tag, but the rest of the Warriors seem overpriced for the their matchup.
Memphis
The Grizzlies on the other hand are in a great spot. They are facing a much faster-paced team which means they will likely see an increase in number of possessions. The Warriors have defended SG’s and SF’s well this season, but not many people will be targeting Tony Allen or Tayshaun Prince anyway. Kosta Koufos is an interesting play once again, keep taking him on sites where his price is low. A site like Draftstreet is a bit harder to pay for him because their salaries adjust quicker.
- Mike Conley – Conley is not going to give you many 40+ fantasy point nights, but he lives in that 25-35 range and that’s very good considering his price. I like the matchup against Curry and now that Randolph is back, that should take some of the pressure off of his shoulders.
- Zach Randolph – Z-Bo played pretty well last game and his injury didn’t seem to bother him all that much. As long as he gets the go ahead to play tonight, consider him a good play against the Warriors.
Miami at Minnesota
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Miami Proj. Starters – Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Pekovic
Miami
The Heat are hoping to have Dwyane Wade back for tonight’s game. He participated in shootaround and will try to give it a go. If he does play, that hurts the value of both Norris Cole and Ray Allen, but neither of them were great fantasy options anyway. The Heat have a nice matchup against the uptempo Wolves and Vegas expects this to be a high scoring game as the total is set at 202 points. I think you can safely ignore Chris Bosh at this point, he has been nowhere to be found lately.
- Lebron James – James is the only Heat player that I am trusting tonight. Wade is coming back from an injury, Bosh can’t rebound, and the rest of the role players don’t provide much fantasy value. Lebron can put up monster games when he’s motivated and after the Heat have lost back to back games, I think he will be plenty motivated in this one.
Minnesota
This game would be so much better if Kevin Love was playing, but he will miss tonight’s game as his grandmother passed away. That means Dante Cunningham will likely draw the start and Nikola Pekovic will likely see some added run at Center. The Heat have had a suffocating defense all season and even though Vegas expects this game to be close, I’m having a hard time finding any fantasy options that stand out. Kevin Martin is a great scorer, but will have good defenders on him, Pekovic is probably the safest option but the Heat have been solid down low, and Ricky Rubio has been too inconsistent to trust in cash games.