NBA Grind Down: Saturday February 1st
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
Brooklyn at Indiana
- Vegas Line – Indiana -11, 189.5 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Anderson-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
Brooklyn
The Nets have a very tough matchup tonight against the Pacers. Not only are the Pacers ranked 6th or better against every position on the floor, but the Nets are playing in a back to back situation and could easily get blown out again tonight. Taking less than favorable matchups usually isn’t the recipe for success. Avoid all Nets tonight.
Indiana
The Pacers are also in a less than favorable matchup tonight. With the exception of last night’s game, the Nets have really played some good defense over the past month or so. The Nets are ranked 6th or better against SG’s, SF’s, PF’s, and Centers over the last 15 days. The Pacers could easily turn this into a blowout and I don’t want to pay up for any Pacers in a bad matchup that has the potential for a blowout.
Oklahoma City at Washington
- Vegas Line – Oklahoma City -4, 202.5 Over/Under
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Oklahoma City
The Thunder are coming off of a big win against the Nets last night and are 4 point favorites tonight against the Wizards. The way that the Thunder are playing right now, I’m a little surprised that the line is only at 4. The Wizards have struggled to defend PG’s (16th) and SF’s (23rd) and those are the two positions that you should be targeting tonight.
- Kevin Durant – Durant was well on his way to another monster fantasy performance last night, but he was only required to play 30 minutes as the game was well out of hand after 3 quarters. Durant is the top fantasy option tonight and should be treated as such. If you can afford him, get him in your lineups.
- Reggie Jackson – Jackson looks like a great play tonight against the Wizards. He has been very boom or bust over the last couple of weeks, but he has a solid matchup against Wall and this game is expected to stay close. Look for Jackson to top 25 FP’s which should be more than enough to cover value on most sites.
Washington
The Wizards take on the red hot Thunder tonight. The Thunder have defended SG’s, SF’s, and Centers well this season. In fact, they are ranked 8th or better at defending each of those positions. That leaves us with John Wall and Nene Hilario with favorable matchups. Nene has topped 28 fantasy points in each of his last 5 games and should be able to hit that mark again tonight.
- John Wall – Wall seems to take games personally. When they faced the Heat a few weeks back and LeBron told everyone to watch the kind of numbers he would put up, Wall went out and had the bigger game. Durant and the Thunder are coming onto his home court and I think we see Wall put on a show and try to go toe to toe with Durant. He’s my top PG tonight.
Minnesota at Atlanta
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Pekovic
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Ayon
Minnesota
The Wolves are 3.5 point underdogs tonight against the Hawks in what should be a high scoring game. Both of these teams like to push the pace and the Wolves will be missing their best defender in Nikola Pekovic. The Hawks have not been great defensively this season and there aren’t any matchups that I will be avoiding here. Ricky Rubio makes a nice GPP play, but he’s been too inconsistent of late to be trusted in cash games. Ronny Turiaf is also in play as a punt option at Center, he is close to minimum salary on most sites.
- Kevin Love – In the two games with Pekovic out, Love has averaged 29 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 assists. He has a great matchup tonight against the Hawks who are really hurting down low right now. Look for Love to compete with Durant for the top scoring fantasy option.
Atlanta
The Hawks have a solid matchup against the Wolves who are ranked 15th or worse against every position on the floor except for Centers. This game has a high total of 203 points and both teams should score close to 100 points. Jeff Teague made his return back to the lineup last night and played well. My guess is that they will let him play in a back to back, but make sure to check the injury news before tip off in cash they decide to hold him out. DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver both make decent plays at SG and SF if their prices are affordable.
- Paul Millsap – Millsap has scored over 35 fantasy points in 6 straight games and should be able to make it 7 in a row tonight against the Wolves. While Love is a great rebounder, he’s not exactly a great defender and Millsap will have that open 15 foot jumper anytime he wants it. Millsap has nice upside tonight.
Philadelphia at Detroit
- Vegas Line – Detroit -8.5, 214.5 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
Philadelphia
The Sixers are coming off of another blowout loss and now face the Pistons in the second half of a back to back. They are 8.5 point underdogs, but this game could easily turn into a blowout. That said, both of these teams play at such a fast pace that it would be very hard to avoid it completely. The Pistons have defended SG’s well this season, but have struggled to defend all of the other positions on the floor.
- Thaddeus Young – Now is the time to take Thad Rad. He is one of those players that is extremely streaky and right now he is red hot. He has scored at least 30 fantasy points in each of his last 6 games and has a very favorable matchup against this weak Pistons’ defense.
- Spencer Hawes – Hawes had a very rough outing last night thanks to 3 fouls in 4 minutes in the first half. I expect him to bounce back nicely tonight against Drummond who can’t seem to pull himself away from the rim. Hawes should have that open jumper or open 3 pointer anytime he wants it.
Detroit
The Pistons face the Sixers tonight who are ranked 27th or worse at defending every position on the floor. We all know the drill here, everyone is in play when they are facing the Sixers. I think the big 4 of the Pistons are all in play tonight. Andre Drummond looks like a great play as does Greg Monroe. However, my two favorites are Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith.
- Josh Smith – Smith went off for 22, 13, and 7 the last time he faced the Sixers which was good enough for over 60 fantasy points. He should have another monster game tonight. Smith is at his best when he can force turnovers on defense and get out in transition. If there was ever an opponent specially built for Smith, it would be the Sixers.
- Brandon Jennings – Jennings is the engine of this offense, he is what makes this team go. The last time these two teams met, Jennings got benched in the first half, but then came out and managed to put up close to 30 fantasy points in the second half alone. Love him tonight against MCW and crew.
Cleveland at Houston
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Miles-Deng-Thompson-Zeller
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Cleveland
The Cavaliers are double-digit underdogs tonight against the Rockets. This is one of those games that could be great for both teams if it stays close and it could be a fantasy nightmare if it turns into a blowout. I’m a little mixed on this one because the Rockets are such a better team. That said, if you think it can stay close, target both Luol Deng and Anderson Varejao. Kyrie Irving should be avoided though, he has a very tough matchup against Beverley and he has averaged 10 less FP’s per game on the road this season than he does at home.
Houston
The Rockets have a nice matchup against the Cavs, but how confident are you that the Cavs can keep this one within striking distance? They are a team that has been blown out on quite a few occasions this season. I will leave that up to you. If you do decide to target players from this game, James Harden (currently listed as a GTD), Patrick Beverley, and Terrence Jones have the three best matchups. With Anderson Varejao expected back, I don’t love the matchup for Dwight Howard.