NBA Grind Down: Saturday, March 1st: Page Two
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Cleveland at Memphis
- Vegas Line – Memphis -8.5, 185.5 Over/Under
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Jack-Deng-Thompson-Hawes
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Prince-Randolph-Gasol
Cleveland
The Cavs only had 8 active players last night against the Jazz and could have the same amount tonight against the Grizzlies. While the matchup is one of the worst on the board, the fact that Kyrie Irving, Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Jarrett Jack, and Tristan Thompson should all play huge minutes actually puts them in play. Even in a blowout, the starters will still have to play big minutes. My favorite of the bunch is Kyrie Irving, he has really played well recently.
Memphis
The Grizzlies have a nice matchup against the short-handed Cavaliers tonight, but this game could easily turn into a blowout. I see the Grizzlies as average fantasy options tonight. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol both have pretty tough matchups and neither have been great fantasy options lately. Mike Conley has the best matchup, but he has really been struggling in his last few games. He should be used as a GPP play only.
Denver at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -11.5, 212 Over/Under
- Denver Proj. Starters – Brooks-Foye-Chandler-Faried-Mozgov
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
Denver
The Nuggets will be without Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler again tonight. Their offense has not been the same with Lawson out of the lineup. While they have a nice matchup against the uptempo Blazers, I have a hard time seeing the Nuggets keeping this one close. Timofey Mozgov is a nice punt option at Center, he has played well in his two starts. Evan Fournier also makes a nice value play, he is cheap and is playing over 30 minutes per game with all of the injuries to the Nuggets. Randy Foye is also in play here, but is probably better used as a GPP play.
- Aaron Brooks – Brooks has been a little bit of a letdown in his few starts, but he has the ability to get hot and he has a nice matchup against Lillard and the Blazers who are ranked 29th against PG’s this season. If there was ever a game for Brooks to live up to his potential, this is it.
Portland
The Blazers will be without LaMarcus Aldridge once again tonight so look for Robin Lopez, Dorell Wright, and Thomas Robinson to see extended minutes once again. Of the three, I think Lopez is the best play for cash games. He has exceeded his value in almost every game with Aldridge out of the lineup. This game does have some blowout potential, but I’m not factoring that in here because I think the starters will get theirs even in a blowout.
- Damian Lillard – After a nice stretch of 40+ FP games, Lillard was very quiet in their blowout win against the Nets the other night. Look for him to bounce back nicely tonight against Brooks who is a weak defender at best. Lillard is the best weapon that the Blazers have with Aldridge out and he should be in for another big game.
- Nicolas Batum – Batum is averaging 37 FP’s per game over his last 3 and has a terrific matchup against the Nuggets who will be without Wilson Chandler. He will be defended by a combination of Fournier, Randolph, and Miller and I love all three of those matchups.
Minnesota at Sacramento
- Vegas Line – Minnesota -4, 213 Over/Under
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Budinger-Brewer-Love-Cunningham
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Landry
Minnesota
This game features one of the highest totals of the night. The Kings are giving up an average of 104.1 points per game this season which is the 4th most in the NBA. It’s a great matchup for the Wolves who will have Nikola Pekovic back. He’s only expected to play limited minutes though so look for Dante Cunningham to be a solid punt option at PF.
- Kevin Love – Love is the top overall play tonight. You are going to have to pay for him, but he’s a great piece to anchor your team around. He has a terrific matchup against Thompson and the Kings and he has a great chance to top 50 FP’s here. With all of the value plays, you can easily fit him in your lineup.
- Ricky Rubio – It seems like it’s been a while since we’ve talked about Rubio, but a matchup against the Kings puts him in play tonight. Rubio has topped 10 assists in 4 of his last 5 games and should be able to force some turnovers tonight and get things going in transition.
Sacramento
The Kings should have DeMarcus Cousins back tonight and it may have actually been a good thing that he was suspended because he had been nursing an injury that needed rest anyway. The Kings also have a great matchup tonight. The Wolves are giving up 101.7 points per game this season and have not been the same team defensively without Pekovic on the court. Even though Pek will see some minutes tonight, he won’t be much of a factor defensively. The big 3 of the Kings are all in play here. I’m going to say Cousins is the odd man out though just because he hasn’t been playing great lately.
- Isaiah Thomas – Thomas has a nice matchup against Rubio who has never been known as a good defender. Thomas has played at an extremely high level lately and should keep it going tonight.
- Rudy Gay – Gay has topped 40 FP’s in each of his last 4 games and makes a great play tonight against the Wolves. Look for Gay to fill up the stat sheet once again.
New Orleans at L.A.Clippers
- Vegas Line – L.A.Clippers -12, 211 Over/Under
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Roberts-Gordon-Evans-Aminu-Ajinca
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Crawford-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
New Orleans
The Pelicans are 12 points underdogs tonight against the Clippers. While there is blowout potential, I like two matchups here. Eric Gordon is coming off of a great game last night and gets to face his former team tonight. Not only that, but the Clippers are going to be without their two SG’s and Redick and Crawford are both out with injuries. I also like Anthony Davis here, he played through his shoulder injury and had a career night against the Suns last night. He should play well against a weak interior defense.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers are facing a short-handed Pelicans team that is playing the second half of a back to back. I think the Clippers will run away with this one, but the question is whether their stars make good fantasy plays or not. With Jamal Crawford out, look for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to both see a few more shot attempts. They both have terrific matchups tonight. My favorite play here is DeAndre Jordan, the Pelicans have not been good defensively against Centers and he should have another big double-double tonight.