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NBA Grind Down: Sunday, February 8th

by Ryan138 Last Updated 2015-04-08 21:46:07

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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L.A. Clippers at Oklahoma City – 1:00 PM EST

L.A. Clippers Oklahoma City
laclippersnba Vegas Total 209 oklahomacitynba Vegas Total 209
Vegas Sprd 3.5 Vegas Sprd -3.5
Team Proj. 103.0 Team Proj. 106.5
Team Pace 96.26 Team Pace 96.94
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 Chris Paul Austin Rivers Matt Barnes Blake Griffin DeAndre Jordan Proj Starter Russell Westbrook Andre Roberson Kevin Durant Serge Ibaka Steven Adams
Opp. Season 25 9 21 20 5 Opp. Season 3 17 22 13 17
Opp. Last 7 4 10 27 18 13 Opp. Last 7 7 27 30 17 7

L.A. Clippers

This nationally televised matchup between the Clippers and the Thunder comes at the right time, as all the stars appear to be healthy. The Clippers will continue to play without J.J. Redick, and Austin Rivers got the start last game for him and played 33 minutes. If you are playing in an early-only slate, Rivers may be worth a look if he continues to start. This game should be played at a very high tempo as the total is one of the highest of the day at 209.

Elite Plays

Blake Griffin – If we wipe out the blowout to the Cavs, recent history suggests Griffin is going to give you 35-37 minutes in an up and down matchup against the Thunder. He has averaged 24/10 against OKC in the last two years. The Thunder’s PF defense has been in the bottom third all year, and they’re ranked 23rd in the last three weeks. I like him much more than Chris Paul today, who has been a bit up and down recently.

Editor’s Note: Griffin has been ruled out for today’s game. He is scheduled for surgery on his elbow and will be out a few weeks.

Secondary Plays

Chris Paul – I feel like he gets up for big games and this is one of the biggest. It should be a fun one to watch and I can see a pretty comfortable double-double out of Paul today. With the all-day slates, I like a lot of the cheaper point guards, but Paul may be a bit under owned due to his recent consistency.

Jamal Crawford – With Redick out, he is getting 30+ minutes. He is a secondary play only because he relies so much on scoring. With so many points up in the air with these two teams, I expect Crawford to be able to hit value for his cheap price tag of 5k.

Oklahoma City

The Thunder are small 4-point favorites today in what should be the most exciting game of the day. They will have a national audience to make a statement, but will be without the suspended Kendrick Perkins. His 20 minutes a game should give Serge Ibaka a bit more minutes, but the biggest boost should be to Steven Adams. If you are playing early-only slates, Adams makes a good punt play at the center position.

Elite Plays

Kevin Durant – Westbrook has the tougher matchup of the two, so Durant is who I would pay up for in cash games. Couple it with the fact that he is under $10,000 on DraftKings and you have yourself a great play. Last year, in four matchups against the Clippers, Durant averaged 32.5 points, 8 assists and 4.5 rebounds.

Secondary Plays

Russell Westbrook – Well, if anyone thought the return of Durant would hamper Westbrook’s stats, they were wrong. Granted he does have one of the toughest point guard matchups against Chris Paul, Westbrook is a GPP play, game in and game out. He has 60+-point upside and is definitely in play today.

L.A. Lakers at Cleveland – 3:30 PM EST

L.A. Lakers Cleveland
lalakersnba Vegas Total 198 clevelandnba Vegas Total 198
Vegas Sprd 14.5 Vegas Sprd -14.5
Team Proj. 92.0 Team Proj. 106.5
Team Pace 96.87 Team Pace 94.61
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 Jordan Clarkson Wayne Ellington Ryan Kelly Tarik Black Robert Sacre Proj Starter Kyrie Irving J.R. Smith Lebron James Kevin Love Timofey Mozgov
Opp. Season 9 22 26 17 14 Opp. Season 30 21 17 10 24
Opp. Last 7 17 23 3 27 3 Opp. Last 7 2 20 24 4 11

L.A. Lakers

The Lakers are getting to make the trip into Cleveland at a rough time. A few injuries combined with the fact that the Cavs look to have finally been able to right the ship is not a recipe for success. These reasons have resulted in the blowout alert of the day, as the Lakers are 14-point underdogs. If you are playing the early slate, you are forced to look at some of these Lakers, and if I had to pick I would take a look at Sacre as a very cheap option who was able to score 27 fantasy points in 32 minutes last game. I would also take a look at Clarkson as a decent cheap PG and Boozer as a risky GPP play at PF.

Elite Plays

None

Secondary Plays

None

Cleveland

Even though Kevin Love continues to struggle, the Cavs were able to rattle off an eight-game winning streak prior to their loss to the Pacers. With the huge spread today, it is hard to recommend playing the big names today as they may only get three quarters of action. The question is, how many points can they score in that three quarters as they have the clear best matchup on the board today.

Elite Plays

Timofey Mozgov – He has had seven straight games of at least 20 fantasy points and is sitting at a very reasonable salary. He, like the rest of the Cavs, has a great matchup and should be able to hit value today as his minutes will likely be the same regardless of the blowout.

Secondary Plays

Kyrie Irving and Lebron James may be able to hit value today even in only three quarters of play, but it is a bit of a risky play. If the Lakers can somehow keep this game close, these two guys will most likely have huge offensive output games.

Minnesota at Detroit – 6:00 PM EST

Minnesota Detroit
minnesotanba Vegas Total 201 detroitnba Vegas Total 201
Vegas Sprd 6.5 Vegas Sprd -6.5
Team Proj. 97.5 Team Proj. 104.0
Team Pace 97.47 Team Pace 95.79
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 Ricky Rubio Kevin Martin Andrew Wiggins Thaddeus Young Nikola Pekovic Proj Starter D.J. Augustin Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Kyle Singler Greg Monroe Andre Drummond
Opp. Season 5 13 25 28 28 Opp. Season 28 23 30 25 27
Opp. Last 7 12 3 4 22 29 Opp. Last 7 18 6 17 14 20

Minnesota

Minnesota is finally just about healthy which is great news for the team, but awful news for DFS players. The return of the likes of Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic and now Ricky Rubio has really created a bit of a log jam minutes wise. They still only went nine deep in their last game as guys like Dieng, Zach Lavine and Mo Williams took pretty large minute hits. We need to keep an eye on Pekovic’s status tonight because if he sits, Gorgui Dieng would make a great play as his price has dipped a bit.

Elite Plays

Thaddeus Young – It has always been a theme that we can attack Monroe and Drummond inside as they are ranked 28th against both the PF and center positions. Thad’s minutes have not changed with the return of the guards and Pek and they should continue to stay around 40 as Shabazz Muhammad has been ruled out as well.

Secondary Plays

None

Detroit

The Pistons have a great matchup today as the T-Wolves are 30th in the league at points allowed this year. The total of this game is set at a decently high 201 and the Pistons are 7-point favorites.

Elite Plays

Greg Monroe – The guy has been on fire over the last few weeks and his minutes have been right at 36 per game over his last two. He is coming off a ridiculous Barbara Walters (20/20) and could be in store for something similar as Minnesota has been at the tail end of the league in defense against both PFs and centers.

D.J. Augustin – His price on DraftKings has finally got to a place where he is a bit tougher to play at $7,000. I still think he makes for a great play as he is getting 30+ minutes and has hit 35+ fantasy points in five of his last seven games with three of those being 47+-point games. He will have a good matchup regardless of who is across from him at the point guard position and makes a great mid-tiered PG play today.

Secondary Plays

Andre Drummond – We all know my feelings on Drummond. He makes a great GPP play and has actually been a bit consistent in his last four games with at least 32 in each of those. He has a great matchup and an opportunity for a big result, but a tournament play only.

Chicago at Orlando – 6:00 PM EST

Chicago Orlando
chicagonba Vegas Total 205 orlandonba Vegas Total 205
Vegas Sprd -5.5 Vegas Sprd 5.5
Team Proj. 105.3 Team Proj. 99.8
Team Pace 95.90 Team Pace 96.22
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 Derrick Rose Jimmy Butler Tony Snell Pau Gasol Joakim Noah Proj Starter Elfrid Payton Victor Oladipo Tobias Harris Channing Frye Nikola Vucevic
Opp. Season 29 8 29 24 29 Opp. Season 12 3 19 26 15
Opp. Last 7 28 14 20 26 5 Opp. Last 7 3 18 16 19 2

Chicago

The Bulls are coming off a huge blowout performance against the Pelicans after that scary injury to the Brow. They will now look to carry that result into a game with the newly healthy Magic squad who are coming off some monster fantasy performances themselves. The Bulls get a bit of a pace boost today as they go to Orlando as 6-point favorites with a total of 203. Guys like Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose are decent plays as the Magic are terrible everyone on the court, but neither has produced a whole lot recently.

Elite Plays

Pau Gasol – Another extremely consistent player this year, Pau is a bit expensive but is a lock for 35+ points every night. His ceiling is around 50 points, which he should come close to today if this game stays close as the Magic play awful inside defense.

Secondary Plays

Jimmy Butler – His price on DK is much better than FD and he makes a fine play over there. The Magic have been awful recently against each position and Butler should be able to drive the lane all game against the lack luster defensive bigs of the Magic.

Orlando

A lot of people were on the Magic on Friday when they went into overtime against the Lakers and Tobias and Vucevic put up monster games. The open looks will be a bit tougher to find against a Bulls squad who are supposed to be known for their defense, even though they are allowing the 14th-most points in the league per game.

Elite Plays

Nikola Vucevic – I said the Bulls are supposed to be known for their defense and there has been a lot of talk from coaches, players and fans about their lack of it. Until I see in on the court, I am not to scared of playing guys against them. Vucevic has dominated this Bulls squad in two games this year averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds.

Tobias Harris – He is simply too cheap right now for his production since coming back off the bench from injury. Small forward has been the position to attack the Bulls all year long and Harris should have another good night.

Secondary Plays

Atlanta at Memphis – 6:00 PM EST

Atlanta Memphis
atlantanba Vegas Total 194 memphisnba Vegas Total 194
Vegas Sprd 2.5 Vegas Sprd -2.5
Team Proj. 95.8 Team Proj. 98.3
Team Pace 95.97 Team Pace 94.10
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 DeMarre Carroll Paul Millsap Al Horford Proj Starter Mike Conley Courtney Lee Jeff Green Zach Randolph Marc Gasol
Opp. Season 4 15 11 4 1 Opp. Season 18 14 14 16 4
Opp. Last 7 25 2 2 3 8 Opp. Last 7 30 28 23 28 9

Atlanta

The Hawks are on a stretch of games here where they can really make a statement. The first one was a success with a huge win at home against the Warriors. They now have to travel into Memphis where Vegas thinks this game will take the tempo of the Grizzles of old. They have the total set at 194 with Memphis being slight favorites.

Elite Plays

None

Secondary Plays

Jeff Teague – If I were to play Hawks today, I would avoid the big men against the stout inside defense of the Grizzlies. Therefore, I think Teague gives us a decent play today as his price is still middle of the road across the industry and he continues to play great basketball. After a bit of a slow stretch in scoring, Teague has had 40+ in his last two games and will have to continue that play today if they want to make another statement. The matchup is not the best, but I think he should be able to get 35+ points today.

Memphis

Memphis is another team on the slate today that has recently had a long win streak. The Grizzlies are coming off winning 8 straight before losing surprisingly to Minnesota. Both of these teams are in the top 5 in the league in points allowed which makes it difficult to love taking plays from this game, even though it should be a great game to watch.

Elite Plays

Zach Randolph – Other than the last game where the team struggled against Minnesota, Randolph has been playing great basketball recently. He had scored 31 fantasy points or more in nine of his last ten games and has a good matchup against the Hawks who are actually 29th in the league against the power forward position in the last three weeks and 16th on the season.

Secondary Plays

None

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About the Author

Ryan138
Ryan138

Ryan (Ryan138) is from Chicago and has been playing fantasy sports for over 10 years. He has been playing daily fantasy sports for over 2 years since he was introduced to Daily Joust in late 2010. In the last year, Ryan has risen into the Top 100 of the RotoGrinders leaderboards by playing at DraftDay, DraftKings and FanDuel in all the major sports.