NBA Grind Down: Thursday, October 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
Washington at Orlando
- Vegas Line – Washington -4, 191 Over/Under
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Temple-Pierce-Hilario-Gortat
- Orlando Proj. Starters – Payton-Fournier-Harris-O’Quinn-Vucevic
| Washington | Orlando | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 191 |  | Vegas Total | 191 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | -4.0 | Vegas Sprd | 4.0 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 97.5 | Team Proj. | 93.5 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 95.33 | Team Pace | 96.97 | |||||||||
| 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 | John Wall | Garrett Temple | Paul Pierce | Nene Hilario | Marcin Gortat | Proj Starter | Elfrid Payton | Evan Fournier | Tobias Harris | Kyle O’Quinn | Nikola Vucevic | |
| Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Washington
The Wizards started their season off with a loss in a close battle against a Lebron-less Heat last night. The Wizards will look to right the ship tonight against a very young Magic ball club. With Bradley Beal out for the first part of the season, many were expecting Otto Porter to get the start at SG. The Wizards went another direction as they started Garrett Temple. Porter did see a team-high 24 minutes off the bench though and should remain fantasy relevant until Beal makes his return. After being suspended for the season opener, Nene Hilario and DeJuan Blair will both be available tonight. This sends Drew Gooden back to the bench which leaves him in a reserve role for tonight’s game.
The Wizards have a favorable matchup tonight against the Magic. They are currently 4-point favorites in a game that features a total of 191 points. If we learned anything from the Magic’s first game of the season, it was that they have little to no interior defense. Anthony Davis and Omer Asik combined for 40 points and 34 rebounds against the Magic. We’ll look to exploit that interior defense again tonight.
Prime Plays
Marcin Gortat – The ‘Polish Hammer’ finished last night’s game with 18 points, 7 rebounds, and a block. He should be able to improve on those numbers tonight against a Magic team that struggled on the glass in their opener. Gortat is one of the more consistent fantasy options at center. He rarely has bad games, but he also rarely has monster fantasy outings either. This makes him a terrific cash game option tonight.
Nene Hilario – Nene will make his season debut tonight after being suspended after being involved in an altercation in the preseason. When Nene is healthy, he’s a very capable PF. On a per-36 minute basis, Nene averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists last season. He should get somewhere between 30-35 minutes tonight against a weak interior defense. He should also fly under the radar tonight as most DFS players will skip over him since he didn’t play last night.
Secondary Plays
John Wall – Wall started his season off with a generous DFS stat line of 16/11/3/2 in the opener against the Heat. He has an extremely high ceiling thanks to his ability to contribute in multiple statistical categories. He’ll be locked up with Elfrid Payton though who won the Defensive Player of the Year award in college.
Orlando
The Magic were competitive in the first quarter of their opener against the Pelicans, but ended up being down by double-digits for most of the game. They are an extremely young team that is going to be on the wrong end of a lot of blowouts this season. The good news is that tonight will be their home opener and young players tend to play much better at home. The Magic wasted no time getting their talented young PG on the floor as Elfrid Payton started and played 31 minutes. Aaron Gordon saw 28 minutes off the bench, but that was partly due to the fact that Kyle O’Quinn couldn’t stay out of foul trouble. Look for O’Quinn to see the majority of minutes at PF tonight.
Fantasy wise, this isn’t the best matchup on the board. The Wizards were a top ten defense last season and should be close to that again this season despite losing Trevor Ariza. Both of these teams play at an average pace and the total is only set at 191 points which leaves much to be desired.
Prime Plays
Tobias Harris – Harris is turning into a complete player. He can run the floor, he can attack the rim, and he has developed a nice three-point shot. His size also helps him create turnovers and block shots on defense. I may be higher on him than most, but I expect him to thrive on this young Magic team. He finished with 25 points and 8 rebounds against the Pelicans and he should be able replicate that tonight against Paul Pierce and the Wizards.
Nikola Vucecvic – Vucevic wasted no time getting off to a fast start this season. In a tough matchup against the Pelicans, he finished with 15 points, 23 rebounds, and 4 blocks. With Channing Frye still out, Vucevic should be a monster on the glass again tonight against the Wizards. Even though Marcin Gortat is a tough defender, Vucevic is arguably the top play at center tonight given his price point.
Kyle O’Quinn – Despite playing only 21 minutes due to foul trouble, O’Quinn finished with a decent fantasy outing against the Pelicans. He had 4 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal. He should see extended minutes tonight as the Magic will be forced to play big against Nene and Gortat. O’Quinn is one of the better values on the board despite a tough matchup. Update: O’Quinn is questionable for tonight’s game.
Secondary Plays
Elfrid Payton – Payton is going to be fantasy-relevant every time he takes the floor. He’s not a scorer by nature, but he’s a stat-stuff that is going to cause opposing PGs a lot of headaches. Target him as a tournament play tonight.
New York at Cleveland
- Vegas Line – Cleveland -12.5, 201 Over/Under
- New York Proj. Starters – Calderon-Shumpert-Anthony-Stoudemire-Dalembert
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-James-Love-Varejao
| New York | Cleveland | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total |  | Vegas Total | 201 | ||||||||
| Vegas Sprd | Vegas Sprd | -12.5 | ||||||||||
| Team Proj. | Team Proj. | 106.8 | ||||||||||
| Team Pace | 92.73 | Team Pace | 96.50 | |||||||||
| 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 | Jose Calderon | Iman Shumpert | Carmelo Anthony | Amar’e Stoudemire | Samuel Dalembert | Proj Starter | Kyrie Irving | Dion Waiters | LeBron James | Kevin Love | Anderson Varejao | |
| Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
New York
This is the game that we have all been waiting for. Unfortunately for the Knicks, it’s not because they are playing. This is the first time that we get to see LeBron and his wrecking crew in action. After being blown out by the Bulls on their home floor, the Knicks come into tonight’s game as 12-point underdogs. The raucous fans at Quicken Loans Arena will be in full force tonight and we may have to factor in a potential blowout here.
Jose Calderon was a surprise scratch last night after the Knicks announced that he was healthy enough to play. Look for an update on his status later today. If he is forced to sit again, Shane Larkin would get another start at PG. The PG position is one that had great success against Kyrie Irving and the Cavs last season.
Prime Plays
NONE
Secondary Plays
Carmelo Anthony – A new roster, a new coach, and a new offense may take some time to gel. You can safely avoid all Knicks players in cash games tonight, but as always, Anthony is worth roster consideration in tournaments. He has the potential to be the highest scoring player every night that he takes the floor.
Cleveland
Let the Cavs reign begin. Luckily, the Bulls are going to be a force in the East or else the Cavs could have walked straight into the finals. They will roll out an impressive starting lineup of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Anderson Varejao. Talent-wise, it’s easily the best starting five in basketball. If that wasn’t enough, they also have Shawn Marion and Tristan Thompson coming off the bench, both of which could start for a lot of teams around the league.
The Cavs are going to be a great team, but the question that we care about is if they are going to be good targets in daily fantasy basketball. Over the last few years, the Heat were one of the least-targeted team when they were healthy because there weren’t enough shots to go around. That could very well be the case with the Cavs this season. I expect LeBron James to get his, but I have a hard time seeing Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and Dion Waiters putting up numbers close to last season’s output. I suppose only time will tell. For the opener, I’m going to have quite a bit of LeBron and little exposure to the other starters.
Prime Plays
LeBron James – “I’m coming home, I’m coming home, tell the world that I’m coming home.” Whether you like LeBron James or not, you can’t let that affect your judgement in daily fantasy sports. The town of Cleveland will be on an all-time tonight as they get their superstar back. You have to think LeBron will want to return the favor by putting on a show. On a night with only five games, it may not be a bad idea to anchor your cash games with LeBron.
Secondary Plays
Kevin Love – The biggest question with Love is how many shots he’s going to get in this offense. Only time will tell, but on a night with a short slate of games, he’s right up there with Blake Griffin as the top overall PF.
Kyrie Irving – Irving is coming off of an excellent season. He’s also coming off of a terrific summer as he won the FIBA MVP award. Now he gets to play with LeBron James. Things are trending upward for the talented young PG. Tonight he draws a great matchup against either Shane Larkin or Jose Calderon.
Dion Waiters – I’m not sure how much stock we can put into preseason game logs, but there has been a consistent theme throughout: Waiters is going to put up shots. He put up at least ten shots in every single preseason game.
Detroit at Minnesota
- Vegas Line – Minnesota -4.5, 206 Over/Under
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Singler-Smith-Drummond
- Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Martin-Wiggins-Young-Pekovic
| Detroit | Minnesota | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 206 |  | Vegas Total | 206 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 4.5 | Vegas Sprd | -4.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 100.8 | Team Proj. | 105.3 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 96.68 | Team Pace | 100.15 | |||||||||
| 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 | Brandon Jennings | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Kyle Singler | Josh Smith | Andre Drummond | Proj Starter | Ricky Rubio | Kevin Martin | Andrew Wiggins | Thaddeus Young | Nikola Pekovic | |
| Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Detroit
The Pistons fell flat in the 4th quarter against the Nuggets last night. They could only muster of 79 points against one of the fastest-paced teams in the league. Josh Smith was the only Pistons player that played well last night as he finished with 25 points. Brandon Jennings was nowhere to be found and Andre Drummond got into foul trouble which was a common theme for him last season. Foul trouble is always tough to predict, but it does hurt Drummond’s fantasy value in cash games as it gives him a low floor to go with his extremely high ceiling.
Even though last night’s performance wasn’t promising, the Pistons offense should be able to turn things around tonight against a very young Timberwolves team that gave up 105 points to the Grizzlies last night. The Pistons are 4.5-point underdogs tonight in a game that features a total of 206 points. Something tells me Stan Van Gundy will have his team ready to play tonight.
Prime Plays
Josh Smith – Despite all the talk about Smith cutting back on his three-point attempts, he threw up three last night and not surprisingly, missed them all. Smith is at his best when he attacks the rim and when he’s in the open floor. He should get ample opportunity to do both tonight against a young Timberwolves ball club. With Greg Monroe still suspended, this may be the last time to target Smith before his minutes take a hit.
Andre Drummond – Drummond was a big disappointment last night after getting into early foul trouble. He finished the game with 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals, but that wasn’t nearly enough to pay off his expensive price tag. Tonight he squares off against Nikola Pekovic who is a sound low-post defender. That said, Drummond is going to have a big length advantage in this one. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, he should bounce back nicely tonight.
Secondary Plays
D.J. Augustin – Brandon Jennings got the start at PG last night, but Augustin played more minutes and was clearly the more productive of the two as he finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Augustin is a great value play across the industry as he should see 25+ minutes of action again tonight.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Pope didn’t have a terrific fantasy outing last night, but he played 36 minutes. He’s a good scorer that is close to minimum salary on most fantasy sites.
Minnesota
The Timberwolves played much better than expected on opening night. They lost a very close game to the Grizzlies in Memphis. As I mentioned yesterday, their starting five is a lot better than they are given credit for. Andrew Wiggins did end up getting the start at SF, but he only ended up playing 19 minutes. His minutes will go up as the season progresses, but we can temper our expectations for him in the early going.
Tonight the Timberwolves host the Pistons in what will be their home opener. They are favorites in a game that is expected to be high scoring. This should be one of the faster-paced games on the schedule tonight and it should fly under the radar a bit. Keep an eye on the status of Kevin Martin. He was a late scratch last night after hurting his ankle.
Prime Plays
Nikola Pekovic – Pek was quiet last night against Marc Gasol, but that tends to happen to a lot of centers as he is a former Defensive Player of the Year. Pek should be able to bounce back tonight against a foul-prone Andre Drummond. Pek averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game last season and should have a similar stat line tonight against the Pistons.
Secondary Plays
Thaddeus Young – Young got off to a great start with his new team. Well, it wasn’t a great start on the defensive end (see: Zach Randolph), but he did have 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. The one thing that’s holding him back from being an elite play in his inability to rebound. That said, you have to love the matchup against a very lazy defender in Josh Smith.
Ricky Rubio – Much like Eldrid Payton, Rubio is a stat-stuffer without a great offensive skill set. Many were expecting him to develop a shot over the years, but we have yet to see that from him. Either way, his ability to fill up the stat sheet puts him in play tonight against Brandon Jennings and the Pistons.
Utah at Dallas
- Vegas Line – Dallas -10.5, 201 Over/Under
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Burks-Hayward-Kanter-Favors
- Dallas Proj. Starters – Nelson-Ellis-Parsons-Nowitzki-Chandler
| Utah | Dallas | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 201 |  | Vegas Total | 201 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 10.5 | Vegas Sprd | -10.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 95.3 | Team Proj. | 105.8 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 93.85 | Team Pace | 97.56 | |||||||||
| 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 | Trey Burke | Alec Burks | Gordon Hayward | Enes Kanter | Derrick Favors | Proj Starter | Jameer Nelson | Monta Ellis | Chandler Parsons | Dirk Nowitzki | Tyson Chandler | |
| Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Utah
The Jazz were competitive for the better part of three quarters last night, but let the Rockets go on a big run and they were never able to recover from it. The Jazz are a very young team that will likely have it’s struggles on the road this season. They come into tonight’s game as 10.5-point underdogs against the new-look Mavericks who looked good in their opener against the defending Champion Spurs. With the potential for a blowout, I’m going to have very little exposure to the Jazz as they face a much improved Mavericks team.
Prime Plays
NONE
Secondary Plays
Alec Burks – Being a Jazz fan, I was in the minority that thought the Jazz should have not matched the offer for Gordon Hayward. Nothing against Hayward, I’m just extremely high on Burks. He played well in the opener with a team-high 18 points. He’ll be matched up against the much smaller Monta Ellis tonight.
Enes Kanter – The “Under-Kanter” only played 22 minutes last night against the Rockets, but that was largely due to the impressive play of Trevor Booker off the bench. Kanter should be in the mix for around 30 minutes tonight against the Mavs. While Derrick Favors will locked up with Tyson Chandler, Kanter will have a much better matchup (offensively) against Dirk Nowitzki.
Dallas
The Mavericks fell just short of pulling off the upset against the Spurs on opening night. If there is anything that we can take away from that game, it’s that the Mavericks are going to be a team to reckon with this season. They have improved on both sides of the ball. In their home opener tonight, the Mavericks are 10.5-point favorites in a game that features a total of 201 points. Raymond Felton will miss tonight’s game as he is still dealing with an ankle injury. That gives a small boost to Jameer Nelson and Devin Harris.
Prime Plays
Dirk Nowitzki – The Mavericks should try to exploit Dirk’s mismatch as often as possible tonight. Enes Kanter will likely start on Dirk, but even if it’s Derrick Favors, he’s going to get all of the shots that he wants. Neither of the Jazz bigs are good perimeter defenders. Dirk is a safe bet for 30+ fantasy points tonight at home.
Secondary Plays
Monta Ellis – Even though Raymond Felton’s injury doesn’t affect Ellis minutes, it did impact his involvement. The Mavericks offense basically ran through Monta as he finished with team-highs in points (26) and assists (6). He draws a decent matchup against Alec Burks and the Jazz.
Jameer Nelson – Nelson got off to a quick start against the Spurs, but quickly faded into the background as Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki took over offensively. Raymond Felton’s absence obviously helps Nelson’s fantasy value, but he’s often the fourth option offensively when he’s on the floor.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers
- Vegas Line – L.A. Clippers -11.5, 202 Over/Under
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Roberson-Jones-Ibaka-Adams
- L.A. Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
| Oklahoma City | L.A. Clippers | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Total | 202 |  | Vegas Total | 202 | |||||||
| Vegas Sprd | 11.5 | Vegas Sprd | -11.5 | |||||||||
| Team Proj. | 95.3 | Team Proj. | 106.8 | |||||||||
| Team Pace | 99.13 | Team Pace | 98.00 | |||||||||
| 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 | Russell Westbrook | Andre Roberson | Perry Jones | Serge Ibaka | Steven Adams | Proj Starter | Chris Paul | J.J. Redick | Matt Barnes | Blake Griffin | DeAndre Jordan | |
| Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Season | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Opp. Last 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Oklahoma City
It was the Russell Westbrook show last night for the Thunder. Westbrook put up 26 shot attempts on route to an impressive fantasy outing. He finished with 38 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. Outside of Westbrook, there is little to talk about. Serge Ibaka was quiet and Perry Jones didn’t live up to expectations even as a min-salary player. While the Thunder are obviously missing Kevin Durant, they are also missing Reggie Jackson who is the team’s third-best scorer behind Durant and Westbrook.
Tonight they square off against the Clippers who are playing their first game of the season. The Thunder are 11.5-point underdogs in a game that features a total of 202 points. The total does seem a bit low to me, but again, outside of Westbrook, the Thunder are going to continue to struggle offensively.
Prime Plays
Russell Westbrook – Westbrook is the only Thunder player that really stands out tonight and he’s not a must-play by any means. Sure, he’s going to see somewhere in the range of 25 shots, but he’s going up against Chris Paul who is one of the best defenders in the NBA. The Clippers were extremely stingy against opposing PGs last season and that should be the case again this year. If this game is going to stay close, it will be on the back of Westbrook, but if they get down big, we could see the starters on the bench in the fourth quarter.
Secondary Plays
NONE
L.A. Clippers
The Clippers start their season with a home game against a Kevin Durant-less Thunder ball club. It’s crazy to think that Chris Paul has never made it past the second-round of the playoffs. The Clippers are hoping to change that this season as they are one of the most talented teams in the NBA. They open up the season with all five starters healthy: Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan.
In terms of tonight’s matchup, the Thunder are not a bad defensive team. They are long and extremely athletic. This game is shaping up to have less fantasy appeal than I originally thought it would.
Prime Plays
Chris Paul – I don’t have any concrete evidence to support this notion, but it seems like CP3 steps up his game when he is facing another elite PG. Whether it be his competitiveness or his ability to play well in big games, he always seems to show up when he’s facing a tough opponent. Russell Westbrook obviously fits the bill as an elite PG. In four meetings against the Thunder last season, Paul averaged 18 points, 12 assists, and 6 rebounds per game.
Secondary Plays
Blake Griffin – The only reason Griffin isn’t a ‘prime play’ tonight is his matchup. Serge Ibaka is an extremely tough defender. That said, Griffin did average 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists against the Thunders in four meetings last season.
DeAndre Jordan – Jordan became a reliable fantasy option last season. He managed to stay out of foul trouble for the most part and he finally got a full complement of minutes. He’s one of the best rebounders and shot-blockers in the game and should get off to a quick start against Steven Adams and the Thunder.