NBA Grind Down: Saturday, December 7th: Page Two

by Emac (emac) Last Updated 2013-12-30 20:59:07

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Brooklyn at Milwaukee

• Vegas Line – Brooklyn -3, 189 Over/Under
• Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Taylor-Johnson-Anderson-Garnett-Lopez
• Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Mayo-Middleton-Ilyasova-Henson

Brooklyn

The Nets continue their awful play, but at least have a shot at winning tonight’s game as they take on a Bucks team that is as injured and down as they are. The Nets will be without their usual cast of characters tonight so treat them the same way that you have been for the past week or so. The Bucks have defended PG’s well and neither Taylor or Livingston should be taken at this point.

• Joe Johnson – Johnson has been the Nets best player over the last few weeks and has a pretty solid matchup tonight against O.J. Mayo who doesn’t like to defend. Johnson should top 20 actual points in this one so if he can get a few rebounds and assists, that will help his fantasy output.

• Brook Lopez – The Bucks already struggle with Centers as it is and now have injuries to their frontcourt. Lopez should be able to post them up and dominate down low. While his game isn’t pretty and often looks like he is playing in slow motion, it works.

Milwaukee

The Bucks are short handed right now, but really rallied last night to put up a win against the Wizards. John Henson is finally seeing good run and it’s about dang time (I’m talking to you Larry Drew). Knowing Drew, he will likely bring Henson off the bench now. All kidding aside, the Nets have defended SF’s well and have struggled against the rest of the positions.

• Brandon Knight – Knight has a solid matchup and has topped 25 fantasy points in four of his last five games. He is really playing well right now and can fill up the stat sheet thanks to his ability to defend and rebound. He should be able to top 25 FP’s again tonight.

• John Henson – In case you have been under a rock, this kid is pretty good. His length allows him to do things that most players can’t do. He is a walking double-double and after his great game last night, he should be in line for plenty of minutes again tonight.

Indiana at San Antonio

• Vegas Line – San Antonio -3.5, 188 Over/Under
• Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
• San Antonio Proj. Starters – Parker-Green-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter

Indiana / San Antonio

The analysis for this game will be short and simple. Take a look at both of these team’s DvP rankings. You will see a lot of red and yellow rankings which means both of these teams defend all positions well. The Pacers rank in the top 15 against every position and the Spurs rank in the top 13 against every position. I expect this to be a defensive battle with little to no fantasy options. There are so many other options that you can easily fade this game.

Sacramento at Utah

• Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
• Sacramento Proj. Starters – Vasquez-McLemore-Williams-Thompson-Cousins
• Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Favors-Kanter

Sacramento

The Kings and Jazz both played last night and both had to travel to Utah for tonight’s game so we could see some sloppy basketball in this one. The combination of tired legs and two bad teams isn’t typically the recipe for a great basketball game. That said, Vegas has the Jazz favored by 1 and the over/under set at 194 points so this is a sneaky game to target tonight. Isaiah Thomas continues to play well off the bench, use him if his price is right.

• DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins and his new “maturity” have actually played quite well lately. He has scored at least 37 fantasy points in each of his last seven starts. I’m not sure how many stretches he has had in his career like that, but it can’t be many. He has a nice matchup against the Jazz and he has always played well in Utah.

Utah

Hopefully you listened to my advice on the Jazz yesterday and completely avoided that game. They were in a bad spot and ended up losing by close to 40 points against the Blazers. Tonight they have a much better matchup and are playing at home which always helps. The Kings are below average defensively. While both of the Jazz bigs are in play here, they seem to hurt each other’s fantasy value when they are on the floor together, so instead, I’m looking to the backcourt in this one.

• Gordon Hayward – Hayward isn’t the most consistent fantasy player in the world, but there are few players in his price range that have more upside. He can play up to the level of Paul George on occasion. I love the matchup against the Kings and think this is a great spot to take him in.

• Trey Burke – Burke got benched last night for not playing hard and I think we will see him come out tonight and be very aggressive right from the get-go. He’s a tough, young player that is still learning, but he has shown that he has a very capable NBA game.

Dallas at Portland

• Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
• Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
• Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez

Dallas

The Mavericks travel to Portland to take on the red hot Blazers and at this point, it’s hard for me to see the Blazers losing to anyone at home. Vegas has the total of this game set at 208 points which is the second highest total of the night. The Blazers really defend all positions well except for PG and it’s hard to trust Jose Calderon as a viable fantasy option. I think both Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki could play well here, but the DvP rankings suggest otherwise.

Portland

The Blazers continue their tear through the NBA schedule and will look to add another W to the list tonight against the Mavericks. The Mavericks have been below average defensively this season and there aren’t any particular matchups that I would avoid in this one.

• Nicolas Batum – I always like the upside of Batum because he can do so many different things on the floor. While Matthews is the better scorer, Batum is better at pretty much every other statistical category. I think tonight is the night to pay up and take Batum.

• Damian Lillard – I also like Aldridge tonight, but he has priced himself out and will be too expensive to take until that price comes down a bit. Lillard has been close to a lock for 30+ fantasy points at home this season and should keep that going tonight.