NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, April 8th

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-04-08 21:16:50

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

Click ‘Stat Chart’ Buttons Below for Pop-Ups of Essential Game-Specific Statistics including Defense vs. Position and Pace

Detroit at Atlanta

• Vegas Line – Atlanta -6.5, 210.5 Over/Under
• Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Singler-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
• Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Antic

Detroit

This is one of my favorite games to target tonight because neither team has a reason to sit or limit any of their players. Both teams also like to push the pace and both are ranked in the bottom half of the league in points allowed per game. The Hawks have given up the 12th most points per game this season and are ranked below average defensively against all five positions in terms of fantasy points allowed.

Josh Smith has been in a terrible slump over the past two weeks and is probably safe to avoid, but the other studs on the Pistons are in play. Greg Monroe has a nice matchup against the smaller Millsap. The Hawks are ranked 24th against PF’s and he makes a nice cash game play across the board. Brandon Jennings is also in play here, the Hawks have surrendered the 2nd most FP’s to opposing PG’s over the last 15 days.

• Andre Drummond – Drummond is an excellent play at Center today against this very thin front-court of the Hawks. Drummond is averaging 41 FP’s per game over his last 3 and should be a beast on the glass tonight as the Hawks are not a great rebounding team. The Hawks have surrendered the 7th most FP’s to opposing Centers this season.

Atlanta

The Hawks also have a very favorable matchup. The total of this game is set at 210 points and the Pistons have given up the 4th most points per game this season. If you look at the DvP rankings of the Pistons, you will see a lot of rankings that are blue and green which means the Hawks have a very favorable matchup. The Pistons are ranked 19th or worse against all five positions on the floor in terms of fantasy points allowed.

Pero Antic has been a popular punt play at Center lately. While I think Gorgui Diend and Omer Asik offer slightly better values at their price points, Antic is certainly in play as he is close to minimum salary. DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver both make solid value plays at SF and SG. Both should play well in a fast paced game.

• Jeff Teague – In two games against the Pistons this season, Teague has posted an average of 18 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. I expect a similar stat line out of him tonight against Jennings. The Pistons have surrendered the 5th most FP’s to PG’s this season and are ranked 30th against PG’s over the last 15 days.

• Paul Millsap – Millsap has a terrific matchup against the weak interior defense of the Pistons. Not only that, but Monroe should have a hard time defending him in the pick and roll as Millsap can step out and hit long jumpers and 3 pointers. His price is affordable across the industry and he as a 40+ FP potential tonight.

Brooklyn at Miami

• Vegas Line – Miami -7, 191 Over/Under
• Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett
• Miami Proj. Starters – Chalmers-Douglas-James-Haslem-Bosh

Brooklyn

This could very well be the matchup that we see in the 2nd round of the Eastern Conference. The Heat look like they will be able to lock up the 1 seed and the Nets are all but locked into the 4th or 5th seed. This should be a nice preview of what we may see in a month or so. This is not a great matchup for either team in terms of fantasy potential. The total is only set at 191 points and the Heat have given up the 6th fewest points per game this season.

Kevin Garnett will miss tonight’s game which means Mason Plumlee will draw another start at Center. Plumlee makes a decent tournament play tonight as the Heat are ranked 25th against the Center position this season. Paul Pierce could make a nice mid-range option at SF as he has a nice track record against the Heat including a 23/4/3 average against them this season. The rest of the Nets can be avoided tonight.

Miami

The Heat also have an average matchup at best. The Nets only average 94 possessions per game and are holding opponents to the 9th fewest points per game this season. Dwayne Wade will once again be a GTD so make sure to check on his status closer to tipoff. Either way, I’m not sure that I will be targeting any Heat players in this one. For the price, I would much rather target James Harden or Kevin Durant over LeBron James. Both have better matchups.

Dallas at Utah

• Vegas Line – Dallas -7.5, 199.5 Over/Under
• Dallas Proj. Starters – Calderon-Ellis-Marion-Nowitzki-Dalembert
• Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Favors-Kanter

Dallas

The Mavericks are in must win mode right now as they are desperately trying to hold on to a playoff spot in the West. Right now they are in the 7th seed, but are only 1 game ahead of the Grizzlies who are currently sitting outside of the playoffs. At this point in the season, you really want to heavily target the teams that have something to play for and that’s the case with the Mavericks tonight.

The Jazz are ranked 13th or worse against all five positions on the floor this season so there really aren’t any matchups that you need to avoid here. Vince Carter has been very solid over the last two weeks and actually offers good value at his price point on most sites. Jose Calderon is cheap and has a nice matchup against the rookie Burke. Monta Ellis is also in play as he has topped 30 FP’s in 4 of his last 5 games.

• Dirk Nowitzki – Dirk has played well against the Jazz over the years and he comes into this game playing some of his best basketball of the season. Dirk has topped 43 FP’s in 3 of his last 4 games and is one of the top PF options on the board. Target him in your cash games tonight.

Utah

The Jazz have nothing to play for at this point in the season, but they do want to develop their young talent as much as they can so look for Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Trey Burke, and Alec Burks to see all of the minutes that they can handle down the stretch. The Mavericks have been very average defensively and have specifically struggled against PF’s this season making Derrick Favors a solid play at PF. Gordon Hayward makes a nice GPP play as he has always had a very high ceiling.

• Trey Burke – Burke is coming off of one of his best games of his career where he put up 25 points and 14 assists against the Warriors. He has great splits at home and his price is cheap across the industry (especially on DS where he is under $9k). The Jazz should give him plenty of playing time and I think the rookie finishes the season strong.

Oklahoma City at Sacramento

• Vegas Line – Oklahoma City -8, 203.5 Over/Under
• Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Jackson-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
• Sacramento Proj. Starters – McCallum-McLemore-Gay-Evans-Cousins

Oklahoma City

The Thunder have a very nice matchup against the Kings tonight, but we do have one situation to keep an eye on. Russell Westbrook is not playing in back to back games and with a much tougher game tomorrow night against the Clippers, we could very well see Westbrook sitting out tonight’s game. If we don’t hear anything by the time the first game tips off, you should probably avoid Westbrook on sites that do not offer the late-swap.

The Thunder have a favorable matchup against the Kings who have given up the 7th most points per game this season and are ranked 15th or worse against all five positions on the floor. Reggie Jackson could be an interesting play even if we don’t hear about Westbrook before leagues lock. He would still see around 30 minutes of playing time if Westbrook plays and would see a nice boost if he sits. Serge Ibaka makes a decent play at PF, but Dirk Nowitzki can be taken at a similar price point and has more upside.

• Kevin Durant – Durant passed Michael Jordan on the list of consecutive 25+ point games the other night and he will look to continue that streak tonight against the Kings who are ranked 24th against SF’s and may be without Rudy Gay as the Kings have given him permission to leave the team as soon as his wife goes into labor. Durant is the top overall fantasy option available today.

Sacramento

The Kings will be without Isaiah Thomas tonight and could be without Rudy Gay as well if his wife happens to go into labor. Gay should probably be avoided in ALL leagues as he is just too big of a risk. The Thunder have really defended SF’s and Centers well this season, but they have struggled against the other 3 positions on the floor. Ben McLemore makes a decent punt option at SG and DeMarcus Cousins makes a nice GPP play.

• Ray McCallum – I am very high on Ray Mac. In fact, I have taken him in every single game that IT2 has sat out. He basically plays the whole game and has the freedom to do whatever he wants offensively. He is a very talented young player with a nice matchup against the Thunder who have struggled against opposing PG’s this season. I will be targeting him heavily once again tonight.

Houston at L.A.Lakers

• Vegas Line – Houston -9, 227 Over/Under
• Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Asik
• L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Johnson-Hill-Sacre

Houston

This game is a perfect game to stack. The total is set at 227 points which is the highest total that I can remember seeing this season. These are two of the fastest paced teams in the league and both are expected to score over 110 points tonight. Dwight Howard is not expected to play tonight which just gives an even bigger fantasy boost to the Rockets’ starters who were already terrific plays.

The Lakers are ranked 29th or 30th against all five positions on the floor in terms of fantasy points allowed and all five starters are in play here. Omer Asik should be a very popular play at Center tonight against a Lakers team that is one of the worst rebounding teams in the league. James Harden is one of the top overall options on the board. Jeremy Lin is seeing all of the minutes he can handle at point with Beverley out. All three make solid plays tonight.

• Terrence Jones – Factoring in price, Jones is probably my favorite play on the board tonight. He sees such a huge uptick in production with Dwight out of the lineup and his style of play should get him plenty of easy buckets against this awful Lakers defense. I think his floor is around 30 FP’s tonight with the potential for much more.

• Chandler Parsons – Parsons is one of the best cash game plays on the board. His price is always affordable and he should be able to fill up the stat sheet against this Lakers team. He also sees a nice boost with Dwight out as he is asked to do more offensively.

L.A.Lakers

The Lakers will be without Pau Gasol, Chris Kaman, Kent Bazemore, and Xavier Henry tonight. Steve Nash and Jordan Farmar will both be available to play though. While I don’t recommend either as fantasy options, I point them out because it really hurts the fantasy value of Kendall Marshall. Other than the PG slot, the rest of the Lakers are in play tonight against this uptempo Rockets team. Jodie Meeks will likely be under-owned but should continue to post his 25+ fantasy point games. Ryan Kelly, Nick Young, and Wesley Johnson should all see big minutes tonight with the injuries to the Lakers. All three make nice punt plays.

• Jordan Hill – Hill is probably the least trusted basketball player in DFS. When he sees big minutes, he can put up monster stat lines, but D’Antoni loves to mess around with his minutes. That said, I think Hill is close to a must play tonight with Pau and Kaman both ruled out. The Rockets have given up the 4th most FP’s to PF’s this season and Hill has topped 33 FP’s in 3 straight games.

San Antonio at Minnesota

• Vegas Line – San Antonio -7, 207 Over/Under
• Detroit Proj. Starters – Joseph-Leonard-Green-Duncan-Splitter
• Atlanta Proj. Starters – Rubio-Barea-Brewer-Love-Dieng

San Antonio

The Spurs will be without Tony Parker tonight and at this point in the season, you may want to avoid anyone on the Spurs over the age of 30 years old. They basically have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs and Coach Pop is going to rest his guys down the stretch. That said, I do like some of the younger players and some of the role players tonight. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green are both in play at the wing positions, this is a nice matchup for both. Cory Joseph could make a decent punt, but I’d much rather take Patty Mills.

• Patty Mills – While Joseph will draw the start, Mills has the higher upside of the two and typically ends up seeing the lion’s share of minutes at the PG spot when Parker is out. He has a terrific matchup against Rubio and the Wolves who have been one of the worst teams in the league against PG’s.

Minnesota

The Wolves will be without Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, and Shabazz Muhammad tonight and Dante Cunningham could be added to that list as well after getting arreseted the other night. This opens up huge minutes for guys like Corey Brewer, J.J. Barea, Alexey Shved, and Robbie Hummel. All make nice punt options tonight as they should all see an uptick in production. J.J. Barea is probably the most interesting play of the bunch as he will start at SG and can really rack up FP’s in a hurry. Gorgui Dieng value has taken a hit now that Ronnie Turiaf is back in the mix. I still like his value, but I think Omer Asik is a much better play.

• Kevin Love – Love sat out the Wolves’ last game, but is expected to be back in the starting lineup tonight and he may very well be facing the Spurs 2nd and 3rd units for a decent portion of the night as I don’t expect Tim Duncan to play a ton of minutes. Love is a great fantasy option tonight.