NBA Grind Down: Saturday, March 25th

Welcome to the RotoGrinders NBA Grind Down. In this all-encompassing preview of today’s NBA action, every game will be broken down statistically, with several key elements highlighted in our charts.

Vegas lines are broken down to show projected team totals, to give you an idea of who is favored to win, and often more importantly, how many points they’re expected to score. We also provide pace numbers, so you can spot a game that might have a few extra possessions and more opportunities for fantasy points.

We also provide position-by-position matchup rankings for every team, to give you an idea of the players who will be in better situations to succeed. Using Defense versus Position data, every projected starter is listed along with his opponent’s rank in points allowed to players of his position. These color-coded charts will help you spot the best matchups of the night at a glance.

If you want to try a new DFS site, be sure to click through a RotoGrinders link and use promo code “GRINDERS” to receive the best perks in the industry.

Legend & FAQ

Click here to follow INSPYR on Twitter


Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers – 3:30 PM ET

Utah Jazz Los Angeles Clippers
Article Image Vegas Total 202.0 Article Image Vegas Total 202.0
Vegas Spread 5.0 Vegas Spread -5.0
Team Total 98.5 Team Total 103.5
Pace +/- -0.5 Pace +/- -5.1
Proj. Starter George Hill Rodney Hood Gordon Hayward Boris Diaw Rudy Gobert Proj. Starter Chris Paul J.J. Redick Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 10 6 25 19 13 Adj. DvP 3 2 3 1 3
DRPM 3.30 2.32 0.65 3.28 DRPM 0.87 0.47 -0.09 -1.64 5.82

Utah Jazz

Greetings, Grinders! We have a nice, short slate on tap for this Saturday. In our first game, the Jazz travel to sunny California to take on the Clippers. Derrick Favors continues to be out of the lineup, and Rudy Gobert has really shined in his absence. Gobert had a career-high 35 actual points and put up 60 FanDuel points against the Knicks this past Wednesday. Gobert has scored 50 or more FanDuel points in three of his last four games, and in fact, the last time the Stifle Tower had a poor game, it was against these same Clippers. Gobert’s season average in three games against LAC this season is 27.36 FanDuel points. While he’s slightly cheaper over on DraftKings, he’ll still need about 40 fantasy points to return 5x. Since the position is lacking options today, Gobert is still a solid play, but he could be slightly overpriced and may not exceed value.

Gordon Hayward has played 36 or more minutes in three straight games and will really need him to show up against the Clippers. With LeBron James currently “questionable” and Kawhi Leonard facing the lowly Knicks, Hayward might be the safest option on the board at small forward. George Hill has also been logging major minutes and has scored over 30 DraftKings points in three straight games. He recently put up 41 DK points against LAC in 37 minutes, meaning there could be some potential upside to be had. With Damian Lillard literally the Elmo on fire GIF, (player-popup)George Hill”:/players/george-hill-993 is more of a low-ownership GPP play even though he’s lacking the elite upside. Boris Diaw started on Wednesday after Joe Johnson started the previous four games, and I’d expect Diaw to remain the starter since he was the last time these two teams linked up. He’s not a viable fantasy option and should be ignored even though he should draw the start. Jeff Withey could see a fair share of minutes since the Jazz will need to stay big. He also lacks elite upside but is a cheap GPP differentiation play. Rodney Hood played 21 minutes on Wednesday, but I can’t pull the trigger on him.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
George Hill $6,100 $6,000 0.89 32.0 2.3 28.4 -2.2 24.6% -0.3% 10 3.30
Rodney Hood $3,700 $4,000 0.73 27.4 -12.1 19.9 -11.9 22.6% -0.4% 6
Gordon Hayward $7,800 $7,600 1.00 34.6 1.5 34.6 1.0 27.6% 1.1% 25 2.32
Boris Diaw $3,500 $3,000 0.53 17.5 -1.6 9.4 0.0 17.4% 0.8% 19 0.65
Rudy Gobert $8,700 $8,000 1.05 33.8 2.9 35.4 12.0 16.0% 3.5% 13 3.28
Joe Ingles $4,100 $4,100 0.68 23.1 6.9 15.7 4.2 15.0% -0.2% 25 N/A

Elite Plays – Gordon Hayward

Secondary Plays – Rudy Gobert, George Hill


Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers host the Jazz after a quick road game in Dallas. Chris Paul played 35 minutes against the Mavericks and should once again log 34+ minutes tonight. DraftKings dropped his salary by $700, while FanDuel dropped it by $400. I still can’t recommend him on FanDuel, but he could be a viable GPP option on DK since he’s down to $7.8k. CP3 has scored 43 or more fantasy points in three of his last five games and went off for 55 DraftKings points when these two teams faced off early last week. As mentioned above, Lillard is grading out as the cash play, but CP3 could be a solid, lower-owned GPP option. Apart from the 55-point explosion last week, he also scored 31.3 DK points in 29 minutes in October when these two teams met, meaning if he plays the heavy minutes, he should be able to at least make salary-based expectations. Most users will be afraid to use CP3 just because they are facing the Jazz.

Blake Griffin has also scored over 50 fantasy points against the Jazz this season but is only averaging 38.43 against them in three meetings. He’s also overpriced on FanDuel but could make salary-based expectations against Boris Diaw since he’s only $7.5k on DraftKings. Power forward does not have a ton of elite options, but still, Griffin has busted against the Jazz this season, so tread carefully. DeAndre Jordan has not really done much this season against the Jazz, and I’d rather use other centers today. Austin Rivers is slightly appealing on DraftKings since he’s $3.4k, but he doesn’t really move the needle on FanDuel.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Chris Paul $8,900 $7,800 1.26 31.2 -2.1 39.2 -4.5 28.9% -0.3% 3 0.87
J.J. Redick $4,300 $3,900 0.71 27.9 -5.2 19.8 3.2 21.1% 2.9% 2 0.47
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute $3,500 $3,000 0.52 21.7 -4.7 11.4 -1.9 11.0% 1.5% 3 -0.09
Blake Griffin $8,800 $7,500 1.15 33.8 -2.2 39.0 -5.6 29.3% 2.3% 1 -1.64
DeAndre Jordan $7,800 $6,300 1.07 31.6 -3.4 33.7 1.8 14.7% -0.5% 3 5.82
Jamal Crawford $3,700 $3,300 0.70 26.4 1.3 18.5 -1.9 23.0% -4.7% 2 N/A
Austin Rivers $4,100 $3,400 0.68 27.9 0.7 18.9 0.1 20.9% 0.2% 3 N/A

Elite Plays – Chris Paul (DK GPP), Blake Griffin (DK GPP)

Secondary Plays – Austin Rivers (DK GPP)


Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:30 PM ET

Washington Wizards Cleveland Cavaliers
Article Image Vegas Total 215.5 Article Image Vegas Total 215.5
Vegas Spread -1.5 Vegas Spread 1.5
Team Total 108.5 Team Total 107.0
Pace +/- -0.2 Pace +/- 0.9
Proj. Starter John Wall Bradley Beal Otto Porter Markieff Morris Marcin Gortat Proj. Starter Kyrie Irving J.R. Smith LeBron James Kevin Love Tristan Thompson
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 16 30 19 16 25 Adj. DvP 6 21 14 24 16
DRPM -1.99 -0.47 1.22 2.20 1.22 DRPM -0.44 -0.57 0.23 1.59 1.40

Washington Wizards

The Wizards travel to Cleveland after beating the Nets easily at home last night. This line was not out when I started writing and his since come in at Washington favored by 1.5 points. This is not a good sign for the status of LeBron James. Wall was dealing with a migraine last night and only had to play 23 minutes. He still did plenty of damage, but it was the Brandon Jennings and Bojan Bogdanovic show. Wall is a decent cash game play, but he’s iffy for tournaments since he rarely scores over 6x on his salary. Wall will need to play nearly 38 minutes to really crush, and since he’s dealing with a plethora of injuries, Scott Brooks will keep him limited to about 34-36 minutes.

I like Bradley Beal spot much better, and he should be considered an elite play on this slate. Otto Porter has played under 30 minutes in three straight games, and he’s more of a GPP bounce back play. Ian Mahinmi won’t play more than 20 minutes, although he did have a nice game against the Nets last night. Bojan Bogdanovic also played well against his former team and has outplayed Markieff Morris in two of his last three games. He grabbed seven rebounds last night, but that’s pretty fluky and came against Brooklyn. He’s normally much more scoring dependent, which means we can only look at him in GPPs. Jason Smith has also been consistently playing well over his last four games, but he’ll need to log over 20 minutes to exceed value, and I’m not expecting him to reach that mark.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
John Wall $9,500 $9,700 1.24 36.7 -2.1 45.3 -2.8 34.7% -0.5% 16 -1.99
Bradley Beal $8,000 $7,700 0.95 34.8 -1.0 33.0 -2.1 26.5% 1.9% 30 -0.47
Otto Porter $5,800 $6,100 0.82 33.6 -2.1 27.6 -4.3 14.9% 0.6% 19 1.22
Markieff Morris $6,000 $5,700 0.84 31.9 -0.3 26.7 -5.3 19.9% -2.8% 16 2.20
Marcin Gortat $4,900 $4,300 0.85 32.4 -9.8 27.4 -10.2 14.6% 1.9% 25 1.22
Bojan Bogdanovic $3,800 $4,700 0.75 26.3 -3.2 19.8 -4.3 22.4% 1.6% 19 N/A

Elite Plays – Bradley Beal

Secondary Plays – John Wall (GPP), Bojan Bogdanovic (GPP)


Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs return home after beating the Hornets in Charlotte last night. LeBron James is being listed as questionable due to an eye injury, and Kevin Love should be good to go, as head coach Ty Lue says that Love will no longer be restricted on back-to-backs. If LeBron misses, both Love and Kyrie Irving should be considered elite GPP plays. If you’re playing the early slate, it’s a tricky situation, though, given Lue’s tendency to rest his stars with little warning. It’s probably best to avoid this situation until we have more information for the shorter four-game slate. On the outside chance we get news that Irving will sit, Deron Williams would become a strong play. J.R. Smith would also be viable, since he’ll take a ton of shots if any of the major dudes are out. Richard Jefferson will likely start if LBJ is out and is a fine punt option. Channing Frye would likely start in the event that Kevin Love is out and is also a viable GPP play. By the way, it almost goes without saying, but LeBron James is an elite option if he does end up playing. There’s a chance he could, since it’s a minor eye issue he’s dealing with.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Kyrie Irving $9,100 $7,900 1.10 35.0 -3.6 38.6 0.2 32.3% 2.3% 6 -0.44
J.R. Smith $3,600 $4,200 0.55 27.5 -1.9 15.3 2.1 15.0% 2.1% 21 -0.57
LeBron James $10,900 $10,400 1.30 37.5 -2.8 48.8 -3.8 33.0% 0.4% 14 0.23
Kevin Love $7,600 $7,300 1.15 31.3 -8.7 35.9 -8.5 25.5% -1.1% 24 1.59
Tristan Thompson $5,000 $4,400 0.77 30.0 -2.3 23.1 -4.9 11.1% -3.2% 16 1.40
Iman Shumpert $3,500 $3,400 0.58 25.8 -0.1 15.0 1.2 14.0% 2.2% 21 N/A

Elite Plays – Kyrie Irving (if he plays), LeBron James (if he plays), Kevin Love (GPP if he plays)

Secondary Plays – Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson (if Love and James are out), Deron Williams (if Irving is out)


Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks – 8:30 PM ET

Toronto Raptors Dallas Mavericks
Article Image Vegas Total 194.0 Article Image Vegas Total 194.0
Vegas Spread 1.5 Vegas Spread -1.5
Team Total 96.3 Team Total 97.8
Pace +/- -4.7 Pace +/- -1.5
Proj. Starter Cory Joseph DeMar DeRozan DeMarre Carroll Serge Ibaka Jonas Valanciunas Proj. Starter Seth Curry Wesley Matthews Harrison Barnes Dirk Nowitzki Nerlens Noel
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 1 8 2 13 8 Adj. DvP 15 4 4 9 9
DRPM -0.13 0.36 -0.20 1.18 1.93 DRPM -2.45 -2.04 1.09 0.62 0.16

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors travel to Dallas after winning in Miami on Thursday. Serge Ibaka was suspended for that game is expected to play tonight. He should return to the starting lineup, but he has struggled of late. His salary is under $6k on both major sites, but the lack of upside in a slow-paced game is not appealing. DeMar DeRozan has been a MONSTER over the last two games and scored 40 actual points in consecutive games. While it’s tempting just to lock him since he’s just hogging all the usage, it’s a slightly risky proposition with his salary at $9.2k on FanDuel. Even the $8.7k tag over on DraftKings gives me a cause for concern, because if he’s not scoring 32+ actual points, he’s not exceeding value. Cory Joseph came back down to earth against the Heat, but that was likely due to the large margin of victory.

Delon Wright was able to mop up in garbage time, and he scored 25 DK points against these Mavs when they linked up early last week. Wright is an extremely risky play, since he’s put up a bagel and scored less than one point in recent games, but if he gets 20 minutes tonight, he’ll exceed value. In Wright’s last six games in which he’s played 20 or more minutes, he is averaging 22.95 DraftKings points. He’s only viable on DraftKings since he can be used as a utility player and does not cost you one of the high-upside guard slots. P.J. Tucker started in place of Ibaka and has been playing well over his last four games. DK spiked his salary to $4.2k, and FD has him at $4.3k. There’s not much to like about him unless he’s under $4k. DeMarre Carroll seems to still be dealing with an ankle issue, and Tucker is logging more minutes than Carroll right now. With the Raptors having the lowest implied team total on the slate and expected to score about 10 points less than their season average, there are no truly elite plays here.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Cory Joseph $4,800 $4,800 0.72 24.7 9.0 17.7 5.0 20.1% -1.6% 1 -0.13
DeMar DeRozan $9,200 $8,700 1.12 35.4 -0.7 39.6 0.9 34.1% 0.8% 8 0.36
DeMarre Carroll $4,000 $3,700 0.67 26.7 -7.8 18.0 -2.4 15.2% 2.0% 2 -0.20
Serge Ibaka $5,700 $5,500 0.90 30.8 -3.0 27.7 -5.7 20.2% 2.1% 13 1.18
Jonas Valanciunas $5,100 $4,900 0.98 25.9 -3.9 25.4 -7.0 18.9% -2.6% 8 1.93
P.J. Tucker $4,300 $4,200 0.66 27.8 -0.2 18.3 3.2 11.9% 1.0% 2 N/A

Elite Plays – N/A

Secondary Plays – DeMar DeRozan (DK GPP), Delon Wright (DK GPP)


Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs continue their homestand tonight after defeating the Clippers on Thursday. J.J. Barea was thrown out after he took a shot at Blake Griffin. Barea’s exit led to Seth Curry playing 35+ minutes and scoring 32.8 DK points. With Barea expected back tonight, I don’t see Curry as a high-end option for this slate. His salary has dipped, but so has his production since the return of Barea. Since Barea is now $4.2k on DK and there are many other point guards in better spots, we’ll have to avoid the little guy here. Dirk Nowitzki has been super consistent over his last 10 games. The only times where he really hurt your team was against the lowly Nets and Sixers. Nowitzki did not even play 25 minutes in those games but should see the court for 28-32 minutes tonight. He can always go off but has not had to log heavy minutes with Nerlens Noel in the lineup.

Speaking of Noel, he started in their previous game and played 33 minutes. Yogi Ferrell was removed from the starting unit and Seth Curry was moved over to point guard. Noel should start once again and is an elite play against the Raptors since he’s only $5k on DK. He’s $5.9k over on FanDuel and carries a little bit more risk. Wesley Matthews and Harrison Barnes aren’t really all that appealing, but they are still logging a ton of minutes. Devin Harris is also contributing, but he popped off in their last game also due to Barea getting kicked out.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Seth Curry $5,300 $5,200 0.72 29.1 -0.2 21.0 -2.8 20.3% 0.8% 15 -2.45
Wesley Matthews $4,500 $5,100 0.68 34.5 -2.5 23.4 -4.9 19.8% -2.6% 4 -2.04
Harrison Barnes $5,600 $5,900 0.80 35.7 -1.4 28.7 -5.9 24.3% -4.1% 4 1.09
Dirk Nowitzki $6,000 $6,000 0.99 26.5 0.5 26.2 -0.4 24.3% 0.7% 9 0.62
Nerlens Noel $5,900 $5,000 1.03 20.5 2.0 21.1 0.1 18.0% -1.4% 9 0.16
J.J. Barea $3,900 $4,200 0.92 22.5 -3.9 20.7 -0.5 28.5% 1.5% 15 N/A
Yogi Ferrell $4,500 $3,900 0.73 25.7 -3.2 18.7 -1.1 21.2% -0.9% 15 N/A

Elite Plays – Nerlens Noel (DK), Dirk Nowitzki

Secondary Plays – Nerlens Noel (FD), Seth Curry (GPP)


New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 PM ET

New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs
Article Image Vegas Total 205.0 Article Image Vegas Total 205.0
Vegas Spread 15.5 Vegas Spread -15.5
Team Total 94.8 Team Total 110.3
Pace +/- -2.1 Pace +/- 0.2
Proj. Starter Ron Baker Courtney Lee Carmelo Anthony Kristaps Porzingis Willy Hernangomez Proj. Starter Tony Parker Danny Green Kawhi Leonard LaMarcus Aldridge Dewayne Dedmon
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 4 14 1 3 1 Adj. DvP 9 23 22 14 28
DRPM -0.83 1.80 0.89 0.88 4.34 DRPM -0.27 -1.02 -1.66 2.01 0.68

New York Knicks

Since we have an early game on the schedule (which is really tilting me), I’m putting this content out without having all the news available to me. Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, and Lance Thomas all missed the Knicks previous game due to various ailments; Rose and Anthony are currently questionable, while Thomas has been ruled out. Kristaps Porzingis was able to take advantage of their absence and is averaging 38.95 DK points in his last six starts. I don’t like the upside of the Unicorn against the Spurs, but he’ll likely log a ton of minutes regardless of score. KP6 played 38 minutes against the Blazers on Thursday even though the Knicks were down by double-digits for most of the game and ended up losing by 15. (The Knicks are bad)

Willy Hernangomez played less than Kyle O’Quinn on Thursday, which makes no sense, but I’m not their coach. Mindaugas Kuzminskas played 32 minutes with Anthony out of the lineup but will have to deal with Kawhi Leonard tonight. Ron Baker started for Rose but Chasson Randle is the better GPP play. Courtney Lee played over 40 minutes and still did not score over 25 fantasy points. I’ll avoid that trap in this game. Joakim Noah was suspended for 20 games due to violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. Since this is the biggest news on the team, I’d just avoid this situation until we get more information.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Ron Baker $3,500 $3,300 0.61 13.3 9.2 8.2 5.4 17.1% -2.4% 4 -0.83
Courtney Lee $4,500 $4,400 0.61 32.0 0.4 19.7 -3.1 14.5% 0.3% 14 1.80
Carmelo Anthony $7,000 $6,600 1.01 34.5 0.3 34.8 -4.8 29.0% -5.7% 1 0.89
Kristaps Porzingis $6,700 $7,100 1.00 32.8 -1.4 32.7 1.1 23.7% 3.4% 3 0.88
Willy Hernangomez $5,100 $4,300 1.04 17.1 3.9 17.8 6.8 20.0% 3.8% 1 4.34
Lance Thomas $4,100 $3,900 0.55 21.0 7.9 11.6 5.5 13.1% -2.7% 1 N/A
Justin Holiday $3,500 $3,400 0.72 19.3 3.4 13.9 0.6 17.0% -2.1% 14 N/A

Elite Plays – N/A

Secondary Plays – Kristaps Porzingis (GPP), Chasson Randle (GPP)


San Antonio Spurs

LaMarcus Aldridge has really found his groove since missing two games due to a heart arrhythmia. He’s still under $7k on DK and could be a viable play here. Since the Spurs are favored by over 15 points, I can only recommend LMA for GPPs. Kawhi Leonard has also taken a back seat to LMA but played 38 minutes against the Grizzlies. The Spurs will extend the Klaw if it’s a close game but will limit him if it’s a blowout. With the Knicks coming to town, expect Leonard to be limited. Pau Gasol is failing to do much off the bench, but he’s down to $4.9k on DraftKings. Since center is lacking a ton of elite options, Gasol could be a viable GPP option. Tony Parker played well against the Grizzlies and logged 30 minutes. Can we expect that many minutes tonight? Patty Mills has also been playing well and should see 20+ minutes tonight.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Tony Parker $4,100 $4,000 0.76 25.6 -0.2 19.4 -0.8 23.2% -0.8% 9 -0.27
Danny Green $3,600 $3,600 0.61 27.0 -1.0 16.6 -4.0 13.5% -1.5% 23 -1.02
Kawhi Leonard $9,100 $10,000 1.22 33.7 -0.1 41.1 -3.6 30.9% -2.8% 22 -1.66
LaMarcus Aldridge $7,300 $6,900 0.97 32.6 -0.3 31.6 5.5 24.1% 3.6% 14 2.01
Dewayne Dedmon $3,500 $3,200 0.90 17.4 -0.7 15.6 -4.9 11.8% -5.1% 28 0.68
Patty Mills $4,400 $3,900 0.80 22.0 2.1 17.6 2.6 21.8% -2.8% 9 N/A
Pau Gasol $5,600 $4,900 1.04 25.6 -2.9 26.6 -4.1 21.1% 2.1% 28 N/A

Elite Plays – LaMarcus Aldridge (GPP)

Secondary Plays – Tony Parker (GPP)


Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 PM ET

Minnesota Timberwolves Portland Trail Blazers
Article Image Vegas Total 213.5 Article Image Vegas Total 213.5
Vegas Spread 7.0 Vegas Spread -7.0
Team Total 103.3 Team Total 110.3
Pace +/- 0.6 Pace +/- -1.8
Proj. Starter Ricky Rubio Brandon Rush Andrew Wiggins Gorgui Dieng Karl-Anthony Towns Proj. Starter Damian Lillard C.J. McCollum Maurice Harkless Noah Vonleh Jusuf Nurkic
Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C Opponent Rank PG SG SF PF C
Adj. DvP 18 11 10 22 22 Adj. DvP 2 12 16 4 21
DRPM -1.77 -2.17 0.27 1.48 2.28 DRPM 0.93 0.05 -2.47 3.74 -1.39

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves travel to Portland after losing to the Lakers in overtime last night. The usual suspects did work in Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, and Ricky Rubio, but all three players could be risky propositions tonight on the second night of a back-to-back on the road. Karl-Anthony Towns will continue to be a monster and is a strong cash game play against the Blazers since he’ll log nearly 40 minutes. Ricky Rubio is slightly more risky, and there are better point guard options on the slate. Andrew Wiggins finally got out of slump, but you can say that about almost everyone when they face the Lakers. He’ll be a fine option against the Blazers tonight but lacks elite upside since he’s so scoring dependent. I mentioned Kris Dunn was seeing more playing time in my CourtIQ article yesterday, and he ended up playing 34 minutes last night. He’ll be a GPP dart throw against the Blazers. Don’t expect much since he’ll need to pick up the defensive stats to really exceed value. Shabazz Muhammad only played 11 minutes last night, while Gorgui Dieng played 38 minutes. Muhammad should be back to his normal 20 minutes against the Blazers.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Ricky Rubio $7,400 $7,800 0.91 32.4 1.4 29.6 8.1 21.3% 5.8% 18 -1.77
Brandon Rush $3,500 $3,200 0.46 21.4 9.0 9.7 2.7 9.9% -1.4% 11 -2.17
Andrew Wiggins $7,000 $7,000 0.86 37.2 0.7 32.0 -1.8 28.0% 0.1% 10 0.27
Gorgui Dieng $5,000 $5,400 0.78 31.7 0.2 24.8 -4.6 14.6% -1.9% 22 1.48
Karl-Anthony Towns $10,400 $10,700 1.21 36.9 1.7 44.7 1.6 27.2% 0.2% 22 2.28
Shabazz Muhammad $4,000 $4,800 0.72 19.9 4.5 14.2 6.4 19.9% 3.4% 10 N/A

Elite Plays – Karl-Anthony Towns (cash)

Secondary Plays – Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio (GPP), Kris Dunn (GPP)


Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard has been on FIRE since the All-Star break and has not scored fewer than 35 DK points. His salary is up to $9.1k on DK and $9.6k on FD. While has been on fire, it has really hurt the production of C.J. McCollum. Lillard will be a strong cash game play, but CJM is the elite GPP target. Jusuf Nurkic has been really consistent over the last couple weeks and has only put up two duds since joining the Blazers. With that level of consistency, we’ll have to consider the Bosnian big man a cash game special. Noah Vonleh has also figured it out and played 32 minutes against the Knicks. He’s failed to break the 25-fantasy-point mark in his last eight starts but is averaging 20.86 DK points in those games. Allen Crabbe is still seeing 30+ minutes off the bench even though Evan Turner has returned. Turner is still playing under 25 minutes, and Crabbe is the better GPP play. Moe Harkless is also seeing fewer minutes than Crabbe and is just not producing right now. Al-Farouq Aminu has also seen under 30 minutes in four straight games.

Notable Fantasy Players

Player FD Salary DK Salary FP/Min Minutes L5 +/- FP/Game L5 +/- True Usage L5 +/- DvP DRPM
Damian Lillard $9,600 $9,100 1.14 35.9 -0.9 40.9 7.9 32.6% 1.9% 2 0.93
C.J. McCollum $6,900 $7,200 0.95 35.1 0.6 33.5 -1.8 27.5% -2.6% 12 0.05
Maurice Harkless $3,600 $4,200 0.70 29.1 -3.8 20.4 -6.2 15.1% -3.0% 16 -2.47
Noah Vonleh $3,800 $4,100 0.69 15.2 13.2 10.5 10.8 13.3% -1.1% 4 3.74
Jusuf Nurkic $6,700 $7,400 1.06 21.0 9.0 22.2 14.5 23.5% 1.3% 21 -1.39
Al-Farouq Aminu $4,500 $4,100 0.73 28.9 -3.7 21.2 -7.4 15.0% -1.5% 4 N/A
Allen Crabbe $3,800 $4,300 0.58 28.6 3.1 16.5 2.4 14.4% -0.9% 12 N/A

Elite Plays – Damian Lillard (cash), C.J. McCollum (GPP), Jusuf Nurkic

Secondary Plays – Allen Crabbe (GPP), Noah Vonleh (cash)


About the Author

INSPYR
Chirag Hira (INSPYR)

Chirag Hira, DFS alias “INSPYR”, has been playing fantasy basketball since 2001. He picked up DFS during the 2015 playoffs and has never looked back. In charge of DFS Alerts for the NBA, Chirag takes it as a daily challenge to break news before anyone else in the industry. He graduated with a degree in sports journalism and his career highlights include interviewing Kobe Bryant and Joe Torre. You can find Chirag on Twitter at C_Hira24.