NBA Grind Down: Saturday, January 25th
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
Chicago at Charlotte
- Vegas Line – Chicago -1.5, 181.5 Over/Under
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Augustin-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Sessions-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson
Chicago
The Bulls and Bobcats game has the lowest total of the night by far. The total is only set at 181 points which is a full 13 points lower than the next lowest total. That’s not great news for the fantasy appeal of this game. Both of these teams play at a slow pace (Bulls – 93, Bobcats – 95) which doesn’t help either. The good news is that Coach Thibs love to keep his rotation short and give his players all of the minutes they can handle. As always, I like Jimmy Butler as a cash game play thanks to sheer attrition.
- D.J. Augustin – Augustin had his worst game of the season as a starter last night. He was held to 7 points and 6 assists in 30 minutes of playing time against the Clippers. A lot of that had to do with the solid defense of Darren Collison. Tonight, Augustin will be matched up against Sessions who has not been great defensively in his stint as a starter. Look for Augustin to bounce back nicely tonight.
- Joakim Noah – Noah continues to play at a high level. While I think he may be a bit overpriced on one site (DS – $19k), I think he’s in play everywhere else. He has a great matchup against Al Jefferson who has never been known for his defense or his hustle. Noah should have a great game on the glass.
Charlotte
The Bobcats are in a less than favorable position tonight. The Bulls are one of the slowest paced teams in the league that pride themselves on playing tough defense. The Bulls are ranked in the top 15 against every position this season. While Al Jefferson has been on a tear of late, I would rather have Noah in this matchup and he’s even a bit cheaper on most sites. Ramon Sessions will continue to start at PG and makes a nice punt option. He’s the only Bobcats player that I am seriously considering though.
L.A.Clippers at Toronto
- Vegas Line – Toronto -1.5, 199.5 Over/Under
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Collison-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers had an impressive win last night in Chicago and will look to make it back to back road victories tonight against the Raptors. I can’t say enough about the recent play of Blake Griffin. When Chris Paul first went down, I thought that Griffin’s numbers would really take a hit, but he’s been the go-to guy offensively and continues to post big stat lines. He has a tough matchup against the big frontcourt of the Raptors, but I think he has another good game. He’s proven that he is matchup-proof. The rest of the Clippers are in tough matchups. Darren Collison is in play on StarStreet ($8k), but is a little too expensive elsewhere.
Toronto
The Raptors also won last night as they beat the Sixers in Philly. Hopefully you read the Grind Down yesterday and took a chance on Kyle Lowry. It was a perfect opportunity for him to bounce back and he posted a huge triple-double. His matchup tonight isn’t nearly as favorable though. Darren Collison has been excellent defensively and shut down the red hot D.J. Augustin last night. For the price, I would much rather have DeMar DeRozan who has scored over 40 FP’s in 7 of his last 8 games.
Oklahoma City at Philadelphia
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes
Oklahoma City
The big question in this game is whether or not Kevin Durant is going to play. As of this morning, he was listed as questionable for tonight’s game, but with this game being one of the first to tip-off, we should get an update before lineups lock. The Thunder are in a terrific position tonight and there are quite a few valuable fantasy plays here regardless of whether or not Kevin Durant plays. Target Reggie Jackson, Serge Ibaka, and Jeremy Lamb tonight and give them a nice boost if KD sits. If KD plays, you have to love his upside against the NBA’s worst defense.
Philadelphia
The Sixers are 7 point underdogs tonight. While that line seems a bit conservative, no one knows whether or not KD is going to play yet. The Thunder have struggled to defend PG’s and PF’s this season and those are the two positions that I will be targeting on the Sixers tonight. Thaddeus Young is a very streaky players that is at his best when his confidence is up. After 3 straight games of scoring at least 16 points, he should be ready to go for tonight’s game.
- Michael Carter-Williams – MCW’s value hinges on the health of Tony Wroten, but as of right now, I would be surprised to see Wroten on the court tonight. If he sits out again, MCW is in a great position. He has a sizeable height advantage over Jackson and should be able to fill up the stat sheet once again.
Houston at Memphis
- Vegas Line – Houston -1, 194.5 Over/Under
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Prince-Randolph-Gasol
Houston
The Rockets and Grizzlies get to do their little dance again tonight after the Grizzlies pulled out a 1 point victory over the Rockets last night. This game will be played in Memphis tonight, but I am expecting a very similar game to last night’s. The Grizzlies love to slow the pace of the game down and make other teams play with their tempo. If you look at the Rockets’ box score from last night, there weren’t many fantasy bright lights except for Chandler Parsons. Even after his good game last night, it’s still a less than favorable matchup. I will be avoiding the Rockets tonight.
Memphis
The Grizzlies actually benefit from playing the uptempo Rockets. The Rockets will likely try to speed up the pace of this game a little bit which never hurts the value of the opposing team. No one on the Grizzlies really played great last night, but I do think Zach Randolph makes a nice play tonight.
- Zach Randolph – Randolph had a rough night shooting the ball last night and only ended up with 8 rebounds in that game. I expect him to improve on both of those tonight. The Rockets have given up the 3rd most fantasy points to opposing PF’s this season and Jones should have a tough time defending him in the post. I fully expect him to post a 20 and 10 game tonight.
Atlanta at Milwaukee
- Vegas Line – Atlanta -2.5, 194.5 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Brand
- Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Antetokounmpo-Ilyasova-Henson-Sanders
Atlanta
The Hawks have to be chomping at the bit to get back on the court after that awful performance last night against the Spurs. That was just one of those games where the Spurs outplayed them in all phases of the game. Tonight should be a much better performance from the Hawks though. They will be without DeMarre Carroll again which means Lou Williams will get another start. He was one of the only Hawks players to play well last night and he makes a solid value play tonight. UPDATE: Jeff Teague will not play tonight. Bump up both Shelvin Mack and Lou Williams
- Paul Millsap – Millsap only played 26 minutes last night so he should be somewhat rested for tonight’s game against the Bucks. He has a fantastic matchup too as the Bucks have given up the 2nd most fantasy points per game to PF’s over the last 15 days. Millsap should fill up all areas of the stat sheet and feast on the weak interior of the Bucks.
Milwaukee
The Bucks are also looking for a bounce back game after getting blown out by the Cavs last night. Luckily for both of these teams, this game is expected to be close and come down to the wire. The starters for the Bucks played very limited minutes last night which is not at all surprising considering who the coach of the Bucks is. Larry Drew loves to mix up his rotations and pull his starters for extended periods of time if they do not start the game well. There is always inherent risk with the Bucks, but I think Brandon Knight and Ersan Ilyasova both make intriguing plays tonight.