NBA Grind Down: Sunday, January 5th
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
Indiana at Cleveland
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Jack-Miles-Clark-Thompson-Varejao
Indiana
Before we get into the picks, let me quickly go over the spread in this game since it is not listed above. The Pacers are 9 point favorites in what is expected to be a low scoring game. The total for this game is set at 184 points which is by far the lowest of the night. These two teams faced off on New Year’s Eve and the Cavs kept the game fairly close, but they did have Kyrie Irving in that contest and will likely be without him here.
Even as 9 point favorites, I like the Pacers in this one. The Cavs have really struggled to defend the SF position and Paul George should be in for a big game. The Cavs have also been pretty average at defending the other positions so if you can find value with any of the Pacers starters, they are in play tonight.
- Paul George – If you look at his game log the last time he faced the Cavs, there isn’t anything spectacular about it. However, George really turned it on at the end of that game as he ended up scoring close to 15 FP’s in the 4th quarter. The Cavs are ranked dead last against SF’s this season and I expect George to post some big numbers.
Cleveland
The Cavaliers are in a terrible spot tonight. Even though they are playing at home, they are 9 point underdogs and are facing a Pacers team that ranks in the top 10 at defending every position on the floor. The Cavs would really benefit from having Kyrie Irving back in the lineup, but it doesn’t sound like he is going to be able to go tonight. The Cavs are an easy fade tonight.
Toronto at Miami
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Miami Proj. Starters – Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh
Toronto
The line in this game is a bit confusing. You would think that the Heat would be bigger than 6.5 point favorites at home against the Raptors, but maybe Vegas knows something that I don’t. I tend to trust Vegas in these types of situations and I will not factor in a blowout here.
There hasn’t been an update on the status of Tyler Hansbrough yet today, but if he can’t give it a go, that gives a nice fantasy boost to both Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas. If you are going to target players that are facing the Heat, you will usually want to target the big men. The Heat are every good at defending the other three positions.
Miami
The Heat play at an average pace of play and so do their opponents today. This game is not expected to be one of the higher scoring games, but with a total of 198 points, it’s not a game that we need to avoid either. I’m expecting the Heat to sit Dwyane Wade here, he has not been playing both ends of back to backs this season and he played in their game last night. If he does sit, give a slight boost to LeBron James, Mario Chalmers, and Jonas Valanciunas.
Golden State at Washington
- Vegas Line – Golden State -3.5, 203 Over/Under
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Golden State
The Warriors have won 8 straight games and will look to make it 9 tonight against the Wizards. This game is expected to be played at a fast pace and it’s expected to come down to the wire. The Wizards have been very average defensively this season. If you look at their DvP rankings, you will see that they rank between 9th and 21st against every position.
One injury note here is Andrew Bogut. He was questionable for their game the other night against the Hawks and only ended up playing 18 minutes in that game. I think his injury makes him too big of a risk tonight against the Wizards.
- Stephen Curry – I’m recommending the two usual characters for the Warriors tonight. Curry and Lee and the two best fantasy options and they both have pretty good matchups tonight. The fact that Curry is starting to rebound the ball and is averaging close to 10 rebounds per game makes him one of the most dangerous fantasy players in the game.
- David Lee – Lee has really been playing at at high level and with Bogut playing limited minutes in their last few games, he has had a slight boost in fantasy production. He should be able to easily post a double-double here and is one of the safer plays for cash games.
Washington
This game is expected to be played at a fast pace, but even though the Warriors like to push the pace, it hasn’t hurt their defense. In fact, for a fast paced team, they have some impressive DvP rankings. The Warriors rank in the top 12 at defending every position on the floor except for PG’s.
- John Wall – Wall is really the only Wizards player that has a favorable matchup. That doesn’t mean that he is the only play here, but I would only use the other Wizards if you really love their value tonight. Wall has had a few down games in a row, but should bounce back tonight against Curry. Wall is at his best when he is pushing the ball up the court and that’s what I’m expecting from him tonight.
Boston at Oklahoma City
- Vegas Line – Oklahoma City -9, 195.5 Over/Under
- Boston Proj. Starters – Crawford-Bradley-Green-Sullinger-Bass
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
Boston
The Celtics have finally come back down to Earth after an impressive start to their season. They have lost 9 of their last 12 games and have failed to score over 92 points in each of their last 3 games. This is a tough spot for the C’s even with the fact that the Thunder are playing in a back to back situation. However, if you think they can keep it close, I think both Jordan Crawford and Jared Sullinger could have nice nights offensively.
Oklahoma City
The Thunder are taking on a Celtics team that is one of the slowest paced teams in the league. It really hurts the fantasy value of the entire team because you can expect the Thunder to see a few less possessions than their season average. Less possessions means less shots, rebounds, assists, etc. Add in the fact that this game could turn into a blowout and that’s enough for me to fade the Thunder. If you are going to target anyone here though, the C’s have struggled to defend the PF position.