NBA Grind Down: Saturday, January 11th
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 Toronto
- Vegas Line – Toronto -9.5, 192.5 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Livingston-Anderson-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
Brooklyn
The Nets have their winning streak up to 5 games after a big win against the Heat last night in double-overtime. Vegas thinks that streak is going to come to an end tonight though as the Nets are 9.5 point underdogs here. The Raptors and Nets both play at an average pace and the Raptors have defending PG’s, PF’s, and Centers well this season.
- Joe Johnson – Johnson is one of those players that is really good when he is aggressive and when he has his confidence up. Right now that’s the case for Johnson. With D-Will out of the lineup, it forces Johnson to have the ball in his hands more often and he’s been playing some great basketball. He remains a great value play at his cheap price tag.
Toronto
The Raptors are expected to win this game fairly easily, but the way that the Nets have been playing makes me think that they will be able to keep it competitive. Looking at the Nets DvP rankings, they really only struggle against one position (SG). I would probably avoid Kyle Lowry tonight, even though he has been playing great lately, Livingston is an excellent defender as you can see by the Nets rankings against PG’s over the last 15 days.
- DeMar DeRozan – DeRozan doesn’t make it into my cash game lineups very often. Every night that I like his matchup, I always end up finding a player in his price range that I like more. That said, tonight may be the night that I pull the trigger on him. The Nets have been awful at defending the SG position this season.
Houston at Washington
- Vegas Line – Houston -2.5, 201.5 Over/Under
- Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Booker-Gortat
Houston
The Rockets and Wizards are both playing in back to back situations. Vegas expects this game to be close and high scoring which is always good to see for daily fantasy purposes. The Wizards have defended Centers well this season, but haven’t been great against the other positions on the floor.
- James Harden – Harden has finally shaken off the rust and is really on a nice run right now. He is averaging close to 45 FP’s per game over his last 4 and has a solid matchup tonight. With Dwight in a tough matchup against Gortat and Parsons possibly out again, Harden makes a great play tonight.
Washington
The Wizards are in a nice spot tonight. They are taking on a Rockets team that is ranked in the bottom 10 at defending every position except for PG’s. Even with Lin’s ability to defend lately (not sure where that came from), I still think Wall is in play. He is at his best in uptempo games where he can push the pace and make plays in the open court.
- Bradley Beal – Beal has great upside in this matchup tonight. Harden takes a lot of gambles on defense, but he’s not a great defender. I think Beal should be able to top 20 actual points in this one.
- Trevor Ariza – Ariza has been a very boom or bust type of player lately. He has had fantasy performances ranging from 8 FP’s to 35 FP’s in the last week alone. I like the matchup tonight though and think he is a nice risk for his price.
Phoenix at Detroit
- Vegas Line – Detroit -1.5, 205.5 Over/Under
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Green-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
Phoenix
The Suns and Pistons game is expected to be one of the faster paced games tonight. Both of these teams average over 96 possessions per game. The Pistons have really made an effort to push the tempo over the last few weeks and this has really shown up in their DvP rankings. If you look at the rankings from the last 15 days, you will see that they rank 17th or worse against every single position.
- Goran Dragic – Dragic is one of my favorite plays tonight. With Bledsoe out, he has full control of this offense. He is also coming off of back to back 35+ FP games. He should easily top that mark again tonight against Jennings and the Pistons.
Detroit
The Pistons are coming off of a nice come from behind victory against the Sixers, although I guess a lot of teams do that to the Sixers. Tonight they take on the Suns at home in what should be a high scoring game. The Suns struggle to defend PG’s and are pretty average at defending the other 4 positions on the floor.
- Brandon Jennings – Jennings had an awful first half last night in which he only recorded 1 point and 1 assist. He then came out strong in the second half and finished with over 30 FP’s. He should be able to carry that success over to tonight’s game against Dragic and the Suns.
- Andre Drummond – Drummond is a player that is going to get his fantasy production from attacking the glass, getting blocks, and getting easy buckets. It’s hard to factor in his matchup each night because the ball just has to bounce the right way sometimes. I think he has good potential in his matchup against Plumlee.
New York at Philadelphia
- Vegas Line – New York -5, 209 Over/Under
- New York Proj. Starters – Udrih-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Martin
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Turner-Thompson-Young-Hawes
New York
The Knicks are finally playing some good basketball and have the best matchup on the board tonight. We all know how bad this Sixers defense is. It sounds like J.R. Smith will continue to ride the bench after all of the drama that he has caused for the Knicks. That gives both Murry and Hardaway Jr. a nice boost, but neither are great options off of the bench.
Tyson Chandler will also be out tonight which gives both Andrea Bargnani and Kenyon Martin a boost. I love the matchup for Carmelo Anthony tonight, if you can afford him, get him in your lineups.
- Andrea Bargnani – Bargnani has been playing big minutes with Chandler out and that should be the case again tonight. He should get plenty of open looks against the Sixers and as long as he is knocking them down, he should see 35+ minutes tonight. He’s one of the best options at Center tonight.
- Raymond Felton – Felton has really played well over the last couple of games and should be in for another big night against the Sixers who have been ranked dead last against PG’s all season long.
Philadelphia
The Sixers are expected to keep this game close, however it’s hard to predict who is going to play well for the Sixers each night. If you look at their game logs, MCW, Turner, Hawes, and Young have all been extremely inconsistent. I’m not saying that you should avoid the Sixers altogether, but that taking the Sixers has been a little bit like playing the roulette wheel, impossible to predict.
- Evan Turner – The matchup lines up well for Turner. The Knicks have not defended the wing positions this season and he should be able to fill up the stat sheet again here. The problem with Turner is that he often sits in the corner when his shot isn’t falling. Let’s hope that’s not the case tonight.
Charlotte at Chicago
- Vegas Line – Chicago -4.5, 177.5 Over/Under
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Douglas-Roberts-McRoberts-Jefferson
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
Charlotte
The Bobcats and Bulls game is expected to be the lowest scoring game of the night. The total is set at only 177 points which is by far the lowest of the night. The Bulls love to slow the pace down and play solid defense. That doesn’t bode well for the fantasy value of any of the Bobcats. I’m going to be avoiding all things Bobcats tonight.
Chicago
The Bulls aren’t in a great position tonight, but without Luol Deng, it opens the door for a couple of players tonight. Jimmy Butler has played at least 40 minutes in both starts since the Deng trade and should see similar minutes tonight. He makes a nice cash game play. I also like Kirk Hinrich as a value play, he is playing over 30 minutes per game lately and is close to minimum salary across the industry.