NBA Grind Down: Saturday, November 30th
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
Atlanta at Washington
- Vegas Line – Washington -3.5, 195.5 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Horford
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Webster-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Atlanta
The Hawks have a favorable matchup tonight against the Wizards. Both of these teams like to push the pace. Vegas has this as a close game and there are options on both sides of the ball. The Hawks may still be without Kyle Korver and Lou Williams is still on a minutes cap. I’d avoid the SG situation completely. The Wizards have been a very average team defensively.
- Jeff Teague – Teague continue to play well and has a nice matchup against Wall and the Wizards. Wall likes to pressure the ball, but he often gets beat off the dribble because of it. Teague should be able to post close to a double-double tonight.
- Al Horford – Horford has been one of the most consistent Centers all season long. He is an extremely tough player that plays hard all season long. He has a nice matchup against the Wizards who haven’t been great at defending the paint. Expect another 30+ FP performance.
Washington
The Wizards are 3 point favorites tonight and have a favorable matchup against the Hawks. I would stay away from Nene Hilario as Paul Millsap has really been good defensively for the Hawks. The Hawks also rank in the top 10 against PG’s, but don’t be scared to take Wall, he is averaging almost 45 FP’s per game at home this season.
- Martell Webster – My favorite plays here are the two wings. They are both very affordable across the board and are both seeing 35+ minutes each night. The Hawks are short-handed in that area and have not defended wing players well. Webster is a solid mid-range option.
- Trevor Ariza – Ariza has a little more upside than Webster, but Webster has been a more consistent player. I would recommend taking Ariza in GPP’s and Webster in cash games.
Chicago at Cleveland
- Vegas Line – Chicago -4, 180 Over/Under
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Dunleavy-Deng-Boozer-Noah
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-Clark-Thompson-Varejao
Chicago
The Bulls are still short-handed and still have plenty of value plays. Even though both of these teams are slow-paced, the injuries open up a few different options here. Luol Deng is seeing 40+ minutes per night, Hinrich is seeing 35+ minutes, and Dunleavy is seeing 30+ minutes. I don’t love either of the bigs for the Bulls though as Boozer and Noah have both been seeing less minutes thanks to the solid play of Gibson off the bench.
- Luol Deng – In his last 4 games, Deng is averaging over 40 minutes per game and is averaging over 35 FP’s per game in that stretch. Coach Thibs isn’t afraid to play him the entire game if he has to and you can’t really find that with any other player in the league.
- Kirk Hinrich – The Cavs are ranked 29th against opposing PG’s and Hinrich has really been playing well of late. He has a great matchup , a cheap price tag, and the potential to put up 25+ fantasy points.
Cleveland
The Cavs are at the bottom of the league in both pace of play and points scored per game. They really only have one viable fantasy option right now and even Kyrie Irving hasn’t been playing well. In what should be a low scoring game, I think fading the Cavs is the way to go.
Brooklyn at Memphis
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Blatche-Garnett
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Allen-Prince-Randolph-Koufos
Brooklyn
The Nets are coming off of one of their worst performances this season and that’s saying something. They looked awful last night and a few of the starters didn’t see more than 15 minutes. Now they have to travel to Memphis to take on a very tough defensive team. I think there is still value in Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce, but only if they are extremely cheap. The Nets could easily get blown out of tonight’s game too. The Grizzlies are favored by 8 which is right around the point where you should start factoring in a blowout.
Memphis
The Grizzlies have a favorable matchup against the Nets tonight. The Nets DvP rankings make it very easy on us. They struggle to defend PG’s, SG’s, and PF’s so target those three positions of the Grizzlies. This is expected to be a low scoring game, but there is still some value here. Keep in mind that Marc Gasol is still out.
- Mike Conley – The Nets are ranked 27th against PG’s and Conley is a great play in this matchup. He is usually pretty consistent, but doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as some of the other PG’s in his price range. That said, he has a good chance at scoring 30+ FP’s.
- Zach Randolph – Randolph has really played well over the last few weeks and has averaged close to 20 and 10 during that stretch. With Gasol out, he needs to pick up his game even more and I expect him to play well here.
Minnesota at Dallas
- Vegas Line – Dallas -1, 208.5 Over/Under
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Brewer-Love-Pekovic
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Blair
Minnesota
The Wolves and Mavericks are both fast paced teams and are both ranked in the top 10 in points scored per game. Vegas has the total of this game set at 206 points which is the highest of the night. There are great options from both teams and this is the game that you want to target.
- Kevin Love – I could quote all of the numbers and the analysis would be the same. Love is dominant and should post huge numbers against the much softer Nowitzki.
- Nikola Pekovic – I also like Rubio here, but the Mavs have been good at defending PG’s this season so I like Pek a bit more. Pek has been very solid this season and is averaging close to 30 FP’s per game. The Mavs are ranked 19th against Centers this season.
Dallas
The Mavs are in a great spot tonight. The Wolves like to push the ball and so do the Mavs. The Wolves have been a below average team defensively that has not really defended any particular position well. Monta, Calderon, and Marion are all in play, but Dirk is by far my favorite.
- Dirk Nowitzki – Dirk is averaging over 35 FP’s per game at home this season and should get plenty of open looks in an uptempo game. Neither of these teams are great defensively and the shooters will take advantage tonight. Dirk has also been hitting the glass this season which helps his fantasy value.
Houston at San Antonio
- Vegas Line – San Antonio -6.5, 205.5 Over/Under
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
- San Antonio Proj. Starters – Parker-Green-Leonard-Duncan-Splitter
Houston
The Rockets are in a back to back situation, but they could have won last night’s game by 50 if the starters stayed in the game. Luckily for us, the starters only played limited minutes because they didn’t have to play any more than that. The Rockets have a tough matchup against the Spurs tonight who rank in the top 8 against every single position.
- Dwight Howard – Dwight is probably the only play that I would trust here and that’s only if his price is affordable on the site that you play on. The Spurs have been good against Centers, but Dwight has a major strength advantage over both Splitter and Diaw. Dwight should be able to dominate the glass.
San Antonio
Tony Parker sat out last night’s game and is questionable to play tonight. The injury sounds more like a made up “Pop” injury than an actual injury, but make sure to check the injury news throughout the day. If Parker ends up sitting out, Cory Joseph would make a decent fill in starter if he is minimum priced. The Rockets are one of the worst teams in the league, but be careful of taking Tim Duncan, this is a back to back game and his minutes may be severely limited.
- Kawhi Leonard – Kawhi will likely see big minutes if this game stays close. Pop doesn’t like to give big minutes to his veterans in back to back situations and Kawhi is still a young player. He is my favorite option here.