NBA Grind Down: Saturday, January 3rd - Page Two
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Memphis at Denver
- Vegas Line – Memphis -1, 203 Over/Under
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Allen-Leuer-Gasol
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Afflalo-Chandler-Faried-Mozgov
| Memphis | Denver | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 203 |  | Vegas Total | 203 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -1.0 | Vegas Sprd | 1.0 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 102.00 | Team Proj. | 101.00 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 93.7 | Team Pace | 98.79 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Mike Conley | Courtney Lee | Tony Allen | Jon Leuer | Marc Gasol | Proj Starter | Ty Lawson | Arron Afflalo | Wilson Chandler | Kenneth Faried | Timofey Mozgov | |
| Opp. Season | 12 | 23 | 6 | 30 | 16 | Opp. Season | 1 | 28 | 7 | 17 | 1 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 26 | 29 | 1 | 30 | 2 | Opp. Last 7 | 13 | 27 | 11 | 18 | 1 | |
Memphis
Zach Randolph missed last night’s game against the Lakers and could miss this one as well. Marc Gasol, who was already sick, got hit in the face but later returned. With Denver’s struggles against big men, you’d love to be able to target a cheap value play on the interior if Randolph misses the game, but Jon Leuer has done very little when filling in.
Elite Plays
Marc Gasol — If Randolph misses the game here, I’ll be slotting in Marc Gasol with his increased usage rate. Gasol is relied on to do a lot and is able to fill up a bunch of different categories in the stat sheet, so he’s always a great cash game play.
Secondary Plays
None
Denver
We’ve seen Memphis’ defense struggle a little more than usual as they battle injuries right now. Previously we’ve avoided players facing the Grizzlies, especially shooting guards with Tony Allen guarding them. Now, Memphis is 25th against shooting guards and 15th against power forwards. They still remain the best against point guards and centers.
Elite Plays
Kenneth Faried — Aside from the “dead leg” game where he asked his coach to play him fewer minutes, Faried has been the MVP of the last week or so. In his last five games on DraftKings, he has exceeded 44 points twice, 57 once, and 61 once. On FanDuel, he’s an incredible deal with a price tag below $7,000, but he’s playable everywhere.
Secondary Plays
None
Atlanta at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -5.5, 202 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Horford
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Freeland
| Atlanta | Portland | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 202 |  | Vegas Total | ||||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 5.50 | Vegas Sprd | ||||||||||
| Team Proj. | 98.25 | Team Proj. | ||||||||||
| Team Pace | 96.13 | Team Pace | 96.45 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Jeff Teague | Kyle Korver | DeMarre Carroll | Paul Millsap | Al Horford | Proj Starter | Damian Lillard | Wesley Matthews | Nicolas Batum | LaMarcus Aldridge | Joel Freeland | |
| Opp. Season | 10 | 4 | 25 | 4 | 21 | Opp. Season | 3 | 27 | 11 | 8 | 13 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 24 | 2 | 14 | 1 | 23 | Opp. Last 7 | 5 | 24 | 3 | 19 | 24 | |
Atlanta
Jeff Teague has been the story for the Hawks lately, averaging nearly 50 fantasy points through his last three games. We had a surprise scratch for Al Horford against Cleveland a couple nights ago, but he returned to face Utah. The Hawks face Portland tonight, a team that is the number one team in the league in opponent adjusted field goal percentage.
Elite Plays
Jeff Teague — Teague certainly needs to be on everyone’s radar with his recent run of play. I already mentioned that Portland is one of the better defensive teams, but Damian Lillard can certainly run into trouble a bit. In the past, I don’t think that it was safe to consider Teague for cash games, but he has improved a ton this year and can be used in all formats.
Secondary Plays
None
Portland
Despite not even being very healthy, the Blazers are a league-best 9-1 in their last ten games and are riding a four game win streak. They are at home to face the Hawks, and with Toronto’s loss to Golden State, the Hawks now have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta’s weakness on defense is Kyle Korver, so opposing shooting guards usually do very well.
Elite Plays
Wesley Matthews — Korver’s defense has been so bad that he’s been benched for multiple quarters at a time this season. For our purposes, we’ll be hoping that he plays as many minutes as possible against Matthews. In a matchup of two of the best three-point shooters in the league, I expect the red hot Matthews to have his way tonight. He is shooting 48.9% from beyond the arc in his last four games.
Secondary Plays
Joel Freeland — Freeland has done well with his increase in his minutes lately. He doesn’t do much in the way of scoring, but he rebounds the ball very well and has blocked five shots through his last three games. For his price, he makes for a decent punt.
Philadelphia at L.A. Clippers
- Vegas Line – L.A. Clippers -19, 207.5 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-McDaniels-Covington-Richard Mbah a Moute-Noel
- L.A. Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
| Philadelphia | L.A. Clippers | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 207 |  | Vegas Total | 207 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 19 | Vegas Sprd | -19 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 94.25 | Team Proj. | 113.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 99.52 | Team Pace | 96.32 | |||||||||
| Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | Matchup – Opponent DvP Ranks and Projected Starters | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj Starter | Michael Carter-Williams | K.J. McDaniels | Robert Covington | Luc Richard Mbah a Moute | Nerlens Noel | Proj Starter | Chris Paul | J.J. Redick | Matt Barnes | Blake Griffin | DeAndre Jordan | |
| Opp. Season | 2 | 20 | 16 | 13 | 18 | Opp. Season | 19 | 25 | 30 | 20 | 19 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | 25 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 21 | Opp. Last 7 | 27 | 18 | 21 | 28 | 10 | |
Philadelphia
Last year, you could take multiple Sixers and mix in players from whatever team they were playing, and you’d have a good shot at putting up 300 fantasy points. This year, the results haven’t been even remotely close to what they were on either side. Michael Carter-Williams has regressed and the team just doesn’t have much offensive firepower.
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
Tony Wroten — He is wildly inconsistent when Michael Carter-Williams is healthy, but the upside still there. Last night he put up 28 actual points in 33 minutes to lead the team in scoring. He’ll likely be able to avoid the tough matchup of Chris Paul for much of the game and instead will see plenty of Jamaal Crawford.
L.A. Clippers
I’m usually of the belief that you can’t predict blowouts, but with the Clippers favored by around 20 points at home, I’m staying away for the most part. In tournaments I do think that it can be a good strategy to attack this game, even by possibly stacking it. And with it being the final game of the night, what would be more fun than to be rooting for a huge underdog to take the game to overtime?
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
Jamaal Crawford — I roster Crawford quite a bit, and the nice thing about him is that he’s the most blowout-proof of the key Clippers since he leads the bench unit. The bench has been struggling, so this would make for a nice “get right” game for them.