NBA Grind Down: Sunday, February 22nd - Page Two
Denver at Oklahoma City – 7:00 PM EST
- Vegas Line – Oklahoma City -10.5, 211 Over/Under
- Denver Proj. Starters – Lawson-Gallinari-Chandler-Faried-Nurkic
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Roberson-Singler-Ibaka-Kanter
| Denver | Oklahoma City | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 211 |  | Vegas Total | 211 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 10.5 | Vegas Sprd | -10.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 100.25 | Team Proj. | 110.75 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 98.35 | Team Pace | 97.22 | |||||||||
| 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 | Ty Lawson | Danilo Gallinari | Wilson Chandler | Kenneth Faried | Jusuf Nurkic | Proj Starter | Russell Westbrook | Andre Roberson | Kyle Singler | Serge Ibaka | Enes Kanter | |
| Opp. Season | 26 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 4 | Opp. Season | 15 | 27 | 23 | 29 | 24 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | Opp. Last 7 | |||||||||||
Denver
Denver is in absolute shambles right now, as proven by their best player being benched due to missing practice. Lawson will most likely be back in the lineup today, but at this point we don’t know what to expect from him. I think it is a situation we need to stay away from unless we hear something definitive from the coaching staff.
Elite Plays
Danilo Gallinari – Gallinari moved over to the 2 on Friday and played by far his best game of the season. We know that he has the talent to produce in the NBA, but he has just been so hampered by injuries, we forgot he still was in the league over the last season or two. He played 36 minutes on Friday and put up 27 fantasy points. If he gets some confidence in his shot, he should make a great value play tonight against the Thunder.
Jusuf Nurkic – NBA DFS is so funny sometimes. Nurkic was a guy we were all over in the days leading up to the All-Star break and then he put up a dud. Coming into Friday, he seemed to be a bit forgotten and puts up a 42-point performance in 33 minutes against the Bucks. If he continues to get the minutes, he is another one of the better values on the slate.
Secondary Plays
None
Oklahoma City
This game is very difficult to predict not knowing whether Kevin Durant is out, so I will put all my thoughts in this section here. If Durant is in the lineup, Westbrook is still one of the top options at the point guard position due to the fact that he is playing amazing basketball and that the Nuggets have no point guard to match up with him. If Durant is playing, he immediately becomes the top option at the SF position due to position scarcity and the fact that Durant put up one of the easier 40-point games against this Nuggets squad on February 9th. If Durant does not play, I think Ibaka makes for an elite play tonight as well as he will have a lot more responsibility on the offensive end. Keep an eye on the news today.
Editor’s Note: Durant is out for tonight’s game, and will miss at least a week after having an operation performed on his foot.
Elite Plays
Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant, could all be elite options depending on who is playing tonight.
Secondary Plays
Enes Kanter – He looked very solid in his first game with his new club as he got to play 32 minutes and put up a double-double. He is not going to have huge games with not many shots to go around for him, but I think he could hit his value especially on DK where he is cheaper and gets the bonus.
Charlotte at Dallas – 7:30 PM EST
- Vegas Line – Dallas -10.5, 196 Over/Under
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Williams-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-Zeller-Jefferson
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Rondo-Ellis-Jefferson-Nowitzki-Chandler
| Charlotte | Dallas | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 196 |  | Vegas Total | 196 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 10.50 | Vegas Sprd | -10.50 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 92.75 | Team Proj. | 103.25 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 95.19 | Team Pace | 96.56 | |||||||||
| 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 | Mo Williams | Gerald Henderson | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Cody Zeller | Al Jefferson | Proj Starter | Rajon Rondo | Monta Ellis | Richard Jefferson | Dirk Nowitzki | Tyson Chandler | |
| Opp. Season | 24 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 15 | Opp. Season | 6 | 18 | 3 | 16 | 5 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | Opp. Last 7 | |||||||||||
Charlotte
This is another game that pits a very slow paced team in the Hornets against one of the highest scoring teams in the NBA. Advantage goes to the Hornets players as they will be playing far up in pace, but they are also ten-point underdogs, so the blowout factor is clearly in play today. They got a big boost from their recent addition of Mo Williams which may help keep this game close, yet the Hornets are still one of the lower projected teams of the day.
Elite Plays
Mo Williams – It is hard to argue with what Mo was able to do in his first game with his new team. He played 38 minutes and had 43 fantasy points. He is set up for a great match up today against guys like Rondo, Harris and Barea who pose no threat to his game today. He is a great cheap option at point guard tonight.
Secondary Plays
Gerald Henderson/Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – These two guys are around the same price point and both should hit value today. They both need around 25 fantasy points, and I think I trust Henderson to hit that mark at a more dependable rate than MKG, but I could see playing either guy.
Dallas
The Mavs are coming off a big win against their in-state rivals the Rockets on Friday, but are now without a guy who was playing some good ball for them in Parsons. Parsons’ absence will open up minutes to guys like Aminu with Jefferson possibly starting. Aminu is by far the better fantasy option and makes a decent punt play today, but I would rather play Gallo at the position.
Elite Plays
None – At this point, the Mavs are very difficult to peg plays from as they are around the $6-7k mark, yet none of the players hit that value on a regular basis. Add this to the fact that they are coming down in pace in this game, and I would avoid them even though they are ten-point favorites.
Secondary Plays
Al-Farouq Aminu – Aminu makes a good punt play at the SF position, and would be a great play if the Mavs make this a blowout as he would most likely play garbage time minutes as well.
Memphis at Portland – 9:00 PM EST
- Vegas Line – Portland -3.5, 194.5 Over/Under
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Green-Randolph-Gasol
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
| Memphis | Portland | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 194 |  | Vegas Total | 194 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 3.5 | Vegas Sprd | -3.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 95.5 | Team Proj. | 98.5 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 94.18 | Team Pace | 96.61 | |||||||||
| 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 | Jeff Green | Zach Randolph | Marc Gasol | Proj Starter | Damian Lillard | Wesley Matthews | Nicolas Batum | LaMarcus Aldridge | Robin Lopez | |
| Opp. Season | 21 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 9 | Opp. Season | 4 | 12 | 14 | 5 | 1 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | Opp. Last 7 | |||||||||||
Memphis
The Grizzlies are coming off a very long break as this will be their first game of the second half the season. They will be playing in the game of the night as they travel to Portland to take on the Blazers. Both teams play great defensively and are in the top ten in points allowed per game. This will be a great game to watch and should stay close throughout as the Grizzlies are only three-point underdogs.
Elite Plays
Secondary Plays
Marc Gasol – If I am paying up for the center position, I am probably going to pay a bit extra and get Vucevic in the lineup. I do have to state the fact that Gasol has averaged 20/7/7 against the Blazers this year in two games.
Mike Conley – He is cheap due to playing pretty poorly prior to break, but maybe the rest is what he needed. A GPP play only, Conley has played very well against Portland in the past including a 20/10/9 game earlier this year.
Portland
Portland is going to be a bit of a tough team to get a read on today as they will be adding their big trade Afflalo to the lineup today. They did so without trading away any real key cogs in their lineup as well. I am most likely going to take a wait and see approach to the whole lineup as I think it has the biggest effect on obviously Wes, as well as Batum and Lillard. LMA has a tough match up, but makes a decent GPP play along with Lillard.
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
None
Boston at L.A. Lakers – 9:30 PM EST
- Vegas Line – Boston -2, 200 Over/Under
- Boston Proj. Starters – Smart-Bradley-Turner-Bass-Zeller
- L.A. Lakers Proj. Starters – Clarkson-Ellington-Kelly-Black-Sacre
| Boston | L.A. Lakers | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 200 |  | Vegas Total | 200 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -2.00 | Vegas Sprd | 2.00 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 101 | Team Proj. | 99 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 98.49 | Team Pace | 96.61 | |||||||||
| 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 | Marcus Smart | Avery Bradley | Evan Turner | Brandon Bass | Tyler Zeller | Proj Starter | Jordan Clarkson | Wayne Ellington | Ryan Kelly | Tarik Black | Robert Sacre | |
| Opp. Season | 30 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 25 | Opp. Season | 18 | 2 | 19 | 28 | 22 | |
| Opp. Last 7 | Opp. Last 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||||
Boston
This looks like one of the those nights where you are going to need some players from the last game of the slate if you want to compete for tournaments. This is especially true when two bad, fast playing teams face off against each other like tonight. The sad thing for the Celtics is the addition of a few new players, which does hamper expectations for certain players as we do not know how the rotations will look. The game should stay close and has a decently high total of 201.
Elite Plays
Brandon Bass/Tyler Zeller – With the injuries in the frontcourt for Boston, Bass and Zeller make for great plays across the industry. Jerebko may take a bit of minutes away from Bass, but I think they should again see their minutes in the 30s. They are both coming off great games and have a premium match up against the Lakers. Keep an eye on news about the injury status and the expected playing time for the new additions closer to tip.
Secondary Plays
Avery Bradley – I wish I knew how many minutes IT was going to take away from Bradley, but I cannot imagine it will be too many. This is the area that does take my expectations down a bit as I do not know whether Smart, Turner or Bradley will get fewer minutes. I think with Bradley’s price, he still makes the best option in this match up with Smart close behind.
L.A. Lakers
It has been said that Scott will most likely be changing the starting lineup again. The Lakers are bad and have rarely been good for fantasy purposes, and adding to that is Scott’s constant changes and minute fluctuation. They are hard to get a read on, but are one of the smallest underdogs you will see them as this season tonight.
Elite Plays
None
Secondary Plays
I like a few guys from the Lakers, but for GPP plays only. Ed Davis has had some big games lately, but is playing under 30 minutes. Jordan Hill may get the start and if he does I like him tonight, but I like other centers around his price point as well. Lastly, Jordan Clarkson makes a decent option, but has a tough match up and has also played under 30 minutes lately.