NBA Grind Down: Saturday, February 22nd: Page Two
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Minnesota at Utah
- Vegas Line – Minnesota -4.5, 196.5 Over/Under
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Budinger-Brewer-Love-Cunningham
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Williams-Favors
Minnesota
The Wolves have a nice matchup against the Jazz tonight but they are likely going to be without Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, and Ronny Turiaf. They will be playing tonight’s game extremely short handed which should open up some major minutes for the active players. The Jazz have not been great defensively this season and are giving up 100 points per game. Chase Budinger and Corey Brewer both make nice punt options. Ricky Rubio has a lot of upside in his matchup tonight against Burke. He will likely be asked to be more aggressive offensively with all of the injuries.
- Kevin Love – The Wolves are extremely thin in the front-court and Love will not only be their main weapon offensively, but he will likely have to play 40+ minutes as the Wolves just don’t have enough healthy bodies. Love is the top fantasy option by far tonight.
- Dante Cunningham – The Wolves are without their two Centers which means Cunningham will likely draw the start next to Love tonight. Their only other big is Dieng and he isn’t going to be seeing extended playing time anytime soon. Cunningham should see plenty of minutes and is one of the better value plays across the industry.
Utah
The Jazz were without Derrick Favors last night and it doesn’t sound like they are going to roll him out there tonight as he is still dealing with a hip injury. If Favors does sit, Enes Kanter would draw another start. He has really played well with Favors out. In his last two games, Favors has posted 30 and 49 FP’s. Favors being out would also give a boost to both Marvin Williams and Jeremy Evans.
- Trey Burke – The All-Star break seemed to be just what Burke needed. After a two week slump, he’s come out of the break with back to back 30+ fantasy point efforts. He has a great matchup against Rubio and the Wolves and now is the time to take him before his price takes a big spike upwards.
- Enes Kanter – Kanter may be overpriced on DS, but is still very much in play on sites that have yet to adjust his price. If he gets the start tonight, he will have a terrific matchup against Cunningham. Look for Enes the Menace to keep his high fantasy production going tonight.
Boston at Sacramento
- Vegas Line – Sacramento -7.5, 198 Over/Under
- Boston Proj. Starters – Rondo-Green-Wallace-Sullinger-Bass
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Gray
Boston
The Celtics’ offense was not clicking last night. They only managed to put up 92 points against the league’s second worst defense. Hopefully they will be able to turn it around tonight. The Kings are giving up 103 points per game this season and have struggled to defend all positions.
Jeff Green makes an interesting GPP play, he gives you that high ceiling that you are looking for in a GPP. Gerald Wallace makes a decent punt option as he will draw another start for the injured Avery Bradley. Jared Sullinger also has a nice matchup, but Cousins is expected to be back in the lineup and Sully could find himself in early foul trouble. The biggest question here is whether or not Rajon Rondo will play. He has not been playing in back to backs. If he plays, he has a terrific matchup. If he sits, both Jerryd Bayless and Phil Pressey would see extended time at the point.
Sacramento
The Kings are expecting to have DeMarcus Cousins back tonight and I expect him to be at full strength. This should be a fairly high scoring game and Cousins makes a nice play. For the price, I think I would rather have Andre Drummond, but Cousins has just as much upside and just as good of a matchup. I think Isaiah Thomas would see a nice fantasy boost if Rondo has to sit. Rudy Gay is probably better served as a GPP play against Green and the C’s.
Brooklyn at Golden State
- Vegas Line – Golden State -5, 201.5 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-O’Neal
Brooklyn
The Nets take on the Warriors tonight in what is expected to be a closer game than you might think. The expected pace of this game benefits the Nets’ players more than the Warriors’ players, but I’m having a hard time finding any of the Nets that really stand out as great plays. Joe Johnson and Shaun Livingston are both cheap options at SG, but both have been very inconsistent lately.
- Deron Williams – The one play that makes sense here is D-Will. He has played well when given starter’s minutes. This game is expected to stay close so he should see around 35 minutes. That’s more than enough time for him to cover value in a fast paced game against Curry and the Warriors.
Golden State
The Warriors are the final team to analyze for tonight’s game. They don’t have the best matchup on the board though as the Nets are a pretty slow paced team and have been playing much better defense in the last month. Stephen Curry has been quiet in his last two games, but Curry can explode in any matchup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a huge game tonight.
- David Lee – Lee is the safest play on the Warriors tonight. Andrew Bogut is not expected to play tonight and Lee has really played well in his absence. O’Neal is a solid defensive player, but doesn’t do much offensively and the offense has been running through Lee in the last couple of games. He will be defended by Pierce who should have a very hard time keeping him off the offensive glass.