NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, April 22nd
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
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Atlanta at Indiana
- Vegas Line – Indiana -7, 187 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Brand
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
Atlanta
Atlanta shocked everyone in Game 1 by picking up a huge road win against the Pacers and stealing homecourt advantage. While it certainly wasn’t expected, I’m not sure why we are all so surprised. This Pacers team has been struggling for the last two months of the season and no longer have that defensive prowess that set them apart from their opponents.
Game 2 will be very telling of the Pacers’ character. They need to come out and establish their defensive pressure early. The Pacers are playing with their backs against the wall and I expect a much better performance out of them. Don’t be surprised to see this game turn into a blowout as the Hawks will be content with picking up the split. Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, and DeMarre Carroll will all be in tough matchups and I will be avoiding all in cash games.
- Jeff Teague – The one player that carries some value on the Hawks is Teague. The Pacers had no answer for Teague as he consistently got into the lane and created easy shots for both himself and his teammates. Teague put up 39 fantasy points in Game 1 and will look to stay aggressive in Game 2.
Indiana
The Pacers are already in a must-win situation. That’s crazy to say since they have only played one playoff game, but if they lose this game, the entire state of Indiana might blow up. Coach Vogel will have his guys ready for Game 2 and I expect a much better effort out of the Pacers on both ends of the floor. This is a great matchup in terms of potential fantasy production as the Hawks were ranked 14th or worse against all five positions this season.
The Pacers are one of my favorite teams to target in this set of games. The only starter that I will be avoiding here is Roy Hibbert. He has just not been the same player over the last couple of months and Vogel will likely have him on a short leash if he doesn’t pick it up. David West is the Pacers’ go to player in tough situations and I expect him to have a breakout game in Game 2. Lance Stephenson is in play thanks to his cheap price tag across the industry.
- Paul George – Even though George only shot 6/18 from the field, he is really the only Pacers’ player that could get it going offensively. George finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals on his way to a terrific fantasy performance. I expect George to put the Pacers on this back and take over this next game.
- George Hill – Hill doesn’t have a huge upside, but his price is dirt cheap across the industry. His price is depressed on both FD and DS and I think he makes a terrific punt play at his price point. George posted 23 FP’s in Game 1 and should be able to post a similar stat line in Game 2.
Brooklyn at Toronto
- Vegas Line – Toronto -4.5, 187.5 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-Derozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
Brooklyn
We are getting to a point in the season where favorable matchups are few and far between. That’s the case with the Nets and the Raptors series. But that doesn’t mean that we have to avoid taking players in this series. The Nets pulled off of a tough Game 1 victory and I really expect them to be the ones that come out of this series.
There are a few viable fantasy options on the Nets right now. Kevin Garnett is close to minimum salary across the board and even though he will only play 20 minutes, he can really fill up the stat sheet in those limited minutes. Paul Pierce is one of the more clutch players in the playoffs and you saw that in Game 1 as he took over at the end of the game. He makes a nice value play at SF. Joe Johnson is also in play here, he is coming off of a very nice Game 1.
- Deron Williams – Williams had 31 fantasy points in Game 1 despite only dishing out 3 assists and grabbing only 1 rebounds. You have to think that he will improve on both of those numbers in Game 2. D-Will was very inconsistent during the season, but a lot of that had to do with his inconsistent playing time. That should no longer be a problem in the playoffs as he should play 38+ minutes in every game.
Toronto
The Raptors had the whole city of Toronto behind them in Game 1, but fell just short. They desperately need a win in Game 2. The Nets are a tough, experienced team, but the Raptors have been very resilient all season long and they will be back with a solid performance in Game 2. In terms of fantasy value, there are only two players that I will be heavily targeting here. Jonas Valanciunas really played well in Game 1 and took advantage of the smaller Nets’ lineup. He makes a solid play once again if the price is right.
- Kyle Lowry – I expect a lot of people to target DeMar DeRozan here, but I’m not too high on him in this series. He looked a little nervous in Game 1 and will be hounded by Shaun Livingston who is the Nets’ best on-ball defender. Instead, I will be targeting Kyle Lowry. Lowry put up 41 fantasy points in Game 1 and fills up all areas of the stat sheet. He is a fiery player that will give it everything that he has in Game 2.
Washington at Chicago
- Vegas Line – Chicago -5, 181.5 Over/Under
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
Washington
The Wizards took advantage of the Bulls’ inability to score in the second half and picked up a nice victory in Chicago. This series is going to be an extremely tough, hard fought battle and either team has a shot to win each game regardless of who is at home and who is on the road. This series has the feeling of a classic 7 game series.
In terms of the matchup, I’m just not excited about many players from the Wizards. The total is set at only 181 points and I expect the Bulls to slow the pace of the game down here. The Bulls win by making opponents play at their place and then playing solid defense in the half-court. The Bulls were ranked 5th or better against all five positions on the floor this season. Trevor Ariza makes a decent GPP play.
- Nene Hilario – Nene was the difference maker in Game 1. He played 35 minutes and put up 42 fantasy points. He has been very inconsistent this season, but his price is extremely cheap on both FD and DS. This may be a time to target him as he is under-priced and if he plays anything like he did in Game 1, he will be a great value.
Chicago
The Bulls played well through 3 quarters and then fell apart offensively down the stretch. You know you have some problems offensively when Kirk Hinrich is your go-to offensive player late in the game. I was a little surprised that we didn’t see Mike Dunleavy on the floor down the stretch as he can at least stretch the floor and open things up for Noah and Gibson down low. But, I am not an NBA coach so I will let Coach Thibs do his thing.
Over the course of the season, the Wizards were ranked 15th or better against all five positions on the floor. Joakim Noah looked a little lost in Game 1 which is not what I was expecting. I’ll likely be avoiding him here. Carlos Boozer only sees 24 minutes per game which kills his fantasy value. I do like Taj Gibson here, he played well in Game 1 and is seeing the majority of minutes at the PF spot.
- Jimmy Butler – Butler really played well in Game 1. He finished with 32 fantasy points in 44 minutes of playing time. The best part about Bulter is that he is guaranteed to play over 40 minutes unless he gets in foul trouble (which rarely happens). Butler is a very safe cash game play at the SG position.