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NBA Grind Down: Saturday, November 15th

by JeffElJefe Last Updated 2014-11-20 18:59:44

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: 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.

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Click ‘Stat Chart’ Buttons Below for Pop-Ups of Essential Game-Specific Statistics including Defense vs. Position and Pace

Orlando at Washington

Orlando Washington
orlandonba Vegas Total 194 washingtonnba Vegas Total 194
Vegas Sprd 9.0 Vegas Sprd -9.0
Team Proj. 92.5 Team Proj. 101.5
Team Pace 96.16 Team Pace 95.78
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 Elfrid Payton Evan Fournier Tobias Harris Channing Frye Nikola Vucevic Proj Starter John Wall Garrett Temple Paul Pierce Nene Hilario Marcin Gortat
Opp. Season 5 12 16 5 10 Opp. Season 8 29 6 18 21
Opp. Last 7 22 1 20 18 3 Opp. Last 7 4 30 7 9 9

Orlando

The Magic are on the back end of a back-to-back after beating the Bucks in Orlando last night. All of the starters except for Elfrid Payton played 30+ minutes and Victor Oladipo played in his first game of the season (off the bench). The point guard and wing positions are typically how you want to attack the Wizards: Solomon Hill put up a career high 28 points two games ago while Brandon Jennings had 32 points in their last game. That said, with Oladipo being worked into the rotation and the team having played last night, I think it’s best to stay away.

Prime Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Nikola Vucevic – Vucevic is worth consideration for the simple fact that he put up 23 points and 12 rebounds against this same frontcourt earlier in the season.

Washington

The Wizards have taken advantage of a soft schedule to start the season and have managed a 6-2 record with their only losses having been on the road. This matchup against Orlando is their only game in a span of six days. While they are still waiting on the returns of Bradley Beal and Martell Webster, the rest of the team is rested and healthy. Nene Hilario’s shoulder injury did not keep him from missing any recent practice time and he’s expected to play.

Prime Plays

John Wall – Wall at home is “a thing”. This season he’s averaging over 20 fantasy points more at home than in away games. That will normalize plenty as the season goes on of course, but his career numbers suggest that he’s much more comfortable (especially shooting the ball) at home. Even in Orlando when these teams faced each other earlier in the season, Wall went for 30 points and 12 assists. He’s the guy that I’ll be building my lineups around.

Secondary Plays

Marcin Gortat – A solid game for Gortat against Orlando last time he saw them with 20 points and 12 rebounds. His price is fair across the industry compared to his fantasy point average.

Atlanta at Cleveland

Atlanta Cleveland
atlantanba Vegas Total 205 clevelandnba Vegas Total 205
Vegas Sprd 7.5 Vegas Sprd -7.5
Team Proj. 99.0 Team Proj. 106.5
Team Pace 95.25 Team Pace 93.32
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 Jeff Teague Kyle Korver Thabo Sefolosha Paul Millsap Al Horford Proj Starter Kyrie Irving Shawn Marion LeBron James Kevin Love Anderson Varejao
Opp. Season 16 14 20 20 23 Opp. Season 15 26 14 14 14
Opp. Last 7 25 2 16 30 28 Opp. Last 7 9 24 18 6 7

Atlanta

The Hawks have done well at home and struggled on the road. Tonight they face a tough Cavs team in Cleveland. Vegas expects them to lose fairly handily, yet I think we can find some value here.

Prime Plays

Kyle Korver – Atlanta’s offense is largely about running Korver through multiple screens to free him up for an open shot. It’s a throwback offense that is a refreshing alternative to many of the isolation offenses that we see today in the NBA. His likely defender is Shawn Marion. We saw last night at the end of the game while guarding Rondo that Marion can still defend well in isolation situations (in spurts) and also he does well in the post (from 5-9 feet he rates as one of the best). His weaknesses though happen to be getting through screens and defending shots from 25-29 feet, where he ranks among the worst at his position. Korver’s incredible 57.7% three point shooting percentage has no reason to drop tonight.

Secondary Plays

Jeff Teague – His ability to post 50 point fantasy games and the soft matchup makes him a great GPP play.

Cleveland

The Cavs won a tough battle against the Celtics last night as Rajon Rondo unintentionally dribbled the clock out down by one. This game saw heavy minutes by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, but judging by previous back-to-backs this year, it’s not much of a cause for concern. I’d be concerned rostering Kevin Love, but less having to do with him having played last night and more to do with his fantasy point production in relation to his salary across the industry. We’re paying for Minnesota Kevin Love instead of the third offensive option on a team.

Prime Plays

LeBron James – You get a better deal by rostering James on FD tonight, but it’s really hard to ever argue against using James in cash games anywhere. The way that he fills out the stat sheet leads to a very high floor with obvious upside; his Vegas player prop is 40.5 points+rebounds+assists. That’s very high, especially for a guy that also gets blocks and steals.

Secondary Plays

Anderson Varejao – Varejao is not a guy that will exceed value very often, but his consistency and price on FD makes him a solid cash game play.

Utah at Toronto

Utah Toronto
utahnba Vegas Total 198 torontonba Vegas Total 198
Vegas Sprd 10.0 Vegas Sprd -10.0
Team Proj. 94.3 Team Proj. 104.3
Team Pace 93.23 Team Pace 97.36
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 Trey Burke Alec Burks Gordon Hayward Enes Kanter Derrick Favors Proj Starter Kyle Lowry DeMar DeRozan Terrence Ross Amir Johnson Jonas Valanciunas
Opp. Season 19 7 22 4 28 Opp. Season 20 3 25 29 3
Opp. Last 7 2 25 25 15 15 Opp. Last 7 17 7 19 26 12

Utah

The Jazz are coming off of a Trey Burke buzzer beater at Madison Square Garden on Friday to face the Raptors tonight. This is the last game of a five game road trip where they sit at 2-2, so they’ll be looking to ride the momentum of a big win last night to make this a winning road trip. For a team that finished with nine road wins last year, that would be quite the accomplishment.

Prime Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Gordon Hayward – Hayward reaches the 40-50 fantasy point range often enough to be considered a fairly priced GPP option. The offense runs through him, and he’s really improved his game as an all-around player; he averages 19.9 points per game while often flirting with triple-doubles, and there aren’t many players in the league that do that.

Derrick Favors – Favors is too inconsistent at this point for cash games, but his upside (despite the tough matchup) makes him worth a look for GPP’s.

Toronto

One of the slowest teams in pace of play last year, the Raptors actually have the 8th fastest pace this year. It’s early in the season, so we can’t read too much into it, but it’s worth noting. Being double digit favorites here might concern some people, but in reality the whole slate has big spreads.

Prime Plays

Kyle Lowry – Lowry is playing well over the last week and gets a good matchup in Trey Burke. Aside from a 76ers game where he only played 26 minutes, he’s really been filling up the stat sheet lately: 35 points against Boston and a triple-double against Washington highlight the game logs.

Secondary Plays

James Johnson – If DeMar DeRozan continues to struggle shooting the ball, that’s only going to translate into more minutes for James Johnson. It’s not a coincidence that Johnson saw his season-high in minutes last game as DeRozan had his worst game of the year going 3-17 from the field. Johnson is a point-per-minute player that is pretty much locked in to 20+ minutes a game.

Indiana at Chicago

Indiana Chicago
indiananba Vegas Total 185 chicagonba Vegas Total 185
Vegas Sprd 9.0 Vegas Sprd -9.0
Team Proj. 88.3 Team Proj. 97.3
Team Pace 92.33 Team Pace 95.69
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 Donald Sloan Solomon Hill Chris Copeland Luis Scola Roy Hibbert Proj Starter Kirk Hinrich Jimmy Butler Mike Dunleavy Pau Gasol Joakim Noah
Opp. Season 12 21 27 10 18 Opp. Season 26 24 10 1 30
Opp. Last 7 20 3 24 11 19 Opp. Last 7 13 15 11 1 29

Indiana

When a slow team matches up against another slow team, I stay as far away as possible. That’s what we get here with Indiana coming to Chicago. If getting blown out by the struggling Nuggets doesn’t scare you away from the Pacers, then look at how the pricing has caught up to their value plays. Donald Sloan, Chris Copeland and Solomon Hill all have had their prices rise to where is tough to play them even in a neutral matchup.

Prime Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Roy Hibbert – If I had to choose one Pacer to play on one site, it would be Hibbert on FanDuel and I wouldn’t be thrilled about it. You’ve got to like Hibbert when he’s motivated offensively, and the Pacers’ injuries have forced him into a larger role there, but as we saw last night, he can easily become frustrated.

Chicago

Editor’s Note: Derrick Rose (hamstring) has been ruled out for tonight’s game.

The big question in Chicago tonight, as always it seems, is regarding the health status of Derrick Rose. Whether or not he’s in the lineup not only impacts his replacement, but also the usage of those around him. Again, with this game expected to be slow-paced and low-scoring, it’s not one that I’m looking to have much (if any) exposure to regardless of the news that breaks.

Prime Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Aaron Brooks – If Rose is out, Brooks becomes a nice punt especially on DK where his is min-priced.

Jimmy Butler – Using the “If Rose is out” disclaimer again, Jimmy Butler becomes a viable option due to his increased usage rate.

Detroit at Memphis

Detroit Memphis
detroitnba Vegas Total 187 memphisnba Vegas Total 187
Vegas Sprd 10.0 Vegas Sprd -10.0
Team Proj. 88.5 Team Proj. 98.5
Team Pace 94.14 Team Pace 93.84
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 Brandon Jennings Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Josh Smith Greg Monroe Andre Drummond Proj Starter Mike Conley Courtney Lee Tony Allen Zach Randolph Marc Gasol
Opp. Season 1 6 13 12 6 Opp. Season 7 25 5 22 26
Opp. Last 7 1 27 13 24 10 Opp. Last 7 26 20 2 25 26

Detroit

The Pistons won in overtime last night against the Thunder, but find themselves as double-digit underdogs tonight in Memphis. Per usual Memphis matchups, this game is also projected to be very low-scoring. Memphis is above-average to elite at defending all five positions, so you shouldn’t be using Pistons tonight in cash games. It is worth mentioning that Andre Drummond had one of his better games of the season last night though.

Prime Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Brandon Jennings – Averaging more than 30 points and 7 assists in his last two games, Jennings — a GPP play by nature — enters the discussion for GPP consideration tonight. The tough matchup makes this a contrarian low-owned play. The price gives him arguably more upside than anyone on the board.

Memphis

The Grizzlies seem to be the cash play team for me. Their play style and pace don’t dictate huge individual outputs, but their balanced approach leads to everyone getting their touches and opportunities: Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Courtney Lee and Mike Conley all have usage rates between 20-25%.

Prime Plays

Marc Gasol / Zach Randolph – The price on the Memphis frontcourt duo seem fair on a point-per-game basis recently based on the low end of ratios that you’re expecting for your cash games. There’s not a ton of upside, but the floors are high in this matchup.

Courtney Lee – Lee has been one of the most consistent cheap players so far this year, and while he might become out-priced soon, there’s still some value there.

Secondary Plays

Mike Conley – This should be a 20+ point, 3+ steal game with some assists thrown in for Conley. Ignore the DvP this early in the season; the matchup against Brandon Jennings is plus.

NBA Grind Down Page 1 – Page 2

About the Author

JeffElJefe
JeffElJefe

Working in the Fantasy Sports industry since 2012, Jeff has witnessed Daily Fantasy Sports from every angle: business, content, and as a player. He’s been featured in the New York Times, the L.A. Times, numerous books including Dan Barbarisi’s “Dueling with Kings”, and numerous documentaries including Jason Baumgardner’s “Perfect Lineup”.

On the business side he worked with several startup operators in direct competition with FanDuel and DraftKings. Jeff brought a player’s perspective to the product side of things and was innovative with new features that you see the bigger sites now implementing today.

Content has always been a passion for him, so the opportunity to write for RotoGrinders early in his career was something to jump at. Jeff hosted popular shows for MLB, NBA, and NFL content and often focused on teaching a contrarian approach long before it was cool to do so.

Jeff’s run as a player has been capped off by what many refer to as the best year in DFS tournament history. A baseball live final win (DK), a football Million dollar score, and 2 2nd place finishes in FD live finals.

You can follow Jeff on Twitter: @JeffKCollins