NBA Grind Down: Thursday, May 15th
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 NBA Scoring System, check out the scoring systems section of our FanDuel Review
Indiana at Washington (Game 6 – Indiana up 3-2)
- Vegas Line – Washington -4.5, 181 Over/Under
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
Indiana
Trying to predict which Pacers’ team is going to show up at this point is like trying to predict lottery numbers. Right when we finally think they have turned a corner, they come out and get hammered at home by the Wizards in what could have been a series clinching game. I don’t know what to expect out of this Pacers’ team at this point. It wouldn’t surprise me if they won Game 6 in Washington and it also wouldn’t surprise me if they lost the next 2 games. George Hill makes a decent punt play at PG and Paul George makes a nice GPP play.
- David West – When the Pacers’ are in tough situations, they like to lean on West. After losing Game 5 at home, I’d call this a tough situation. The Wizards have been pretty stout defensively down low, but West can fill up all areas of the stat sheet. He’s flying under the radar and he’s one of my favorite PF plays in this slate of games.
- Roy Hibbert – Hibbert is averaging 28 FP’s per game over his last 4 and is close to a must play on FD where he is only $4,200. He’s been extremely inconsistent, but you aren’t going to find another player in his price range that has as much upside as Hibbert.
Washington
The Wizards have new life in this series after picking up a huge win in Indiana. They now head back to Washington with a chance to knot the series up at 3 games a piece. Vegas has the Wizards favored by 4.5 points, and I’d love to see another Game 7 if they can find a way to get a win here. Trevor Ariza and Bradley Beal are both in play at SF and SG, but my top two plays here are John Wall and Marcin Gortat.
- John Wall – I’ve mentioned this a few times already in the postseason, but Wall plays much better at home than he does on the road. He finally got things going in Game 5 and I expect that to continue in Game 6. His price is very cheap for a player with his upside and I will be using him in all of my lineups.
- Marcin Gortat – After scoring 14 and 11 FP’s in the two previous games, Gortat came out of nowhere and put up 31 points and 16 rebounds in Game 5. Center has been a tough position to gauge in this round and if you don’t trust Hibbert, Gortat could be a nice mid-range play at Center.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (Game 6 – OKC up 3-2)
- Vegas Line – L.A. Clippers -4.5, 212 Over/Under
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
Oklahoma City
The Thunder picked up an improbable win in Game 5 and now have a chance to close out the Clippers in Game 6 in L.A. This has been the best series in the 2nd round and I fully expect this game to head back to OKC for a winner-take-all Game 7. In terms of fantasy options, the same two players that I’ve been mentioning all series are the highlighted plays. The Thunder just haven’t gotten much production from any players outside of Durant and Westbrook.
- Kevin Durant – Durant has now topped 48 FP’s in 4 straight games and even managed to put up that many FP’s despite shooting 4/20 at one point in Game 5. He is the top overall fantasy option and I recommend starting your lineups with Durant and then moving on from there.
- Russell Westbrook – Westbrook is around the same price as CP3 on most sites (some sites he’s more expensive) and even though I have CP3 ranked higher than him for Game 6, he is definitely in play. Westbrook, like Durant, has topped 48 FP’s in 4 straight games as well.
L.A.Clippers
The Thunder have been on the right end of some crazy 4th quarters in this postseason and none have been crazier than the 4th quarter in Game 5, where the Clippers blew a 7 point lead with 40 seconds remaining. The Thunder benefited from some questionable calls as well as some costly mistakes by Chris Paul. It will be interesting to see if the Clippers use this as an excuse or as motivation. My guess is that Doc Rivers will have his guys ready to play and they force a Game 7, but you never know in this series. Blake Griffin makes a decent play at PF, but if you are spending up on players in this game, I’d rather have CP3, Durant, or Westbrook.
- Chris Paul – You don’t Paul make those type of mistakes late in the 4th quarter very often and I expect a huge bounce back game from him in Game 6. He’s topped 42 FP’s in every game so far this series and he has a great chance of reaching 50 FP’s in Game 6.
- Jamal Crawford – Crawford has not shot the ball well in this series, yet he has averaged 26 FP’s over his last 3 games. If he can shoot close to 50% in Game 6, he will be in for a terrific fantasy outing. Use him as an upside play at SG.