NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, December 31st
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
Atlanta at Boston
- Vegas Line – Boston -2.5, 200.5 Over/Under
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Williams-Korver-Millsap-Brand
- Boston Proj. Starters – Crawford-Bradley-Green-Sullinger-Bass
Atlanta
The Hawks and Celtics game starts bright and early. In case you didn’t notice, this one starts at 1:00 ET. This is expected to be a close, fairly high scoring game. The total is set at 200 which is actually quite a bit higher than I would have predicted. The Hawks have a decent matchup against the Celtics, but the C’s have been very good at defending PG’s and SF’s thanks to the defense of Avery Bradley and Jeff Green. For that reason, I will be avoiding both Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver.
DeMarre Carroll has already been ruled out of this game so look for Lou Williams to get another start at SG. While he doesn’t fill up the stat sheet like Carroll, he is a much better scorer. Williams makes a great value play today as his price is fairly cheap across the board.
- Paul Millsap – Millsap is now the Hawks go to guy offensively. Even with him struggling with his shot last game, he still managed to put up 32 FP’s. I like the matchup against Bass and think that he should be able to post a big double-double today. He’s one of my favorite plays for the price.
Boston
The Celtics have a nice matchup against the Hawks who like to play at a fast pace. The Hawks have really only defended the PF position well this season so you can avoid Brandon Bass. The rest of the starters are in play here though. Jordan Crawford is coming off of a big game and can be taken at a discount right now. Jeff Green is always that mid-range option that is a safe play for cash games. My favorite play here though is Sully.
- Jared Sullinger – Without Horford in the middle, the Hawks are stuck with Brand, Antic, and Scott to defend opposing Centers. That bodes well for Sullinger. His price is very reasonable across the board and I think he should push for 30 FP’s today. He’s easily the top option on the C’s.
Cleveland at Indiana
- Vegas Line – Indiana -13, 194.5 Over/Under
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Miles-Gee-Thompson-Varejao
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
Cleveland
The Cavs are without Bynum which opens up minutes for Varejao, Thompson, and Bennett. The problem is that they are facing the incredibly tough defense of the Pacers. The Cavs have not played great on the road this season and the Pacers are one of the best teams at home. Vegas has the Cavs as 13 point underdogs. Even though you may be tempted to take someone from this game so that you can have some action during the day, I would try your best to avoid this game completely.
Indiana
The Pacers are huge favorites here. They are at the top of the league in point differential and face a Cavs team that has really struggled on the road. Sure, anything can happen, but chances are that this game turns into a blowout and we see the Pacers starters on the bench for the entire 4th quarter.
Golden State at Orlando
- Vegas Line – Golden State -5.5, 205 Over/Under
- Golden State Proj. Starters – Curry-Thompson-Iguodala-Lee-Bogut
- Orlando Proj. Starters – Nelson-Afflalo-Harris-Davis-Vucevic
Golden State
The Warriors travel to Orlando to take on the Magic in what should be a very fast-paced game. Both of these teams like to push the tempo and I think this one comes down to the wire. In my last grind down, I mentioned that Andre Iguodala was one of my favorite plays thanks to his low price tag. If you are playing on a site that hasn’t adjusted his price, don’t hesitate to use him in your lineups.
The Magic have defended the Center position well this season but are below average against PG’s (17th), SG’s (27th), and PF’s (22nd). Klay Thompson is very much in play, but the top two plays here are Curry and Lee.
- Stephen Curry – Curry has been posting video-game type numbers. And he’s doing it in a variety of ways. Instead of just scoring points, he’s now posting triple-doubles. I love his matchup today against Jameer Nelson who is not a great defender. Curry should be able to create shots for himself and attack the rim at will. I’m expected a 30 point, 10 assists game from him tonight.
- David Lee – Lee has a favorable matchup tonight against Davis who is actually a pretty similar player. Lee has been Mr. Double-Double over the past month and with Bogut stuck in a tough matchup, that could mean a little extra production coming Lee’s way.
Orlando
The Magic are in a nice spot tonight. The Warriors give up a lot of points thanks to their fast pace of play and the Magic have been playing at a high level. There are 3 players from the Magic that I like in this one. It starts with Jameer Nelson who is the engine of this offense. He has a great matchup against Curry and the Warriors who have struggled to defend the PG position this season.
- Nikola Vucevic – Even though Bogut is a solid defender, I have Vucey ranked as my 3rd overall Center behind Dwight and Cousins. Vucey can fill up the stat sheet and should play well in this one. I think he tops 30 FP’s pretty easily.
- Tobias Harris – Harris is playing at an extremely high level and the most promising stat is his minutes. He is averaging close to 40 minutes per game over the last week. He’s topped 25 FP’s in 5 straight and should continue that today.
Toronto at Chicago
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
Toronto
The Raptors and Bulls are two slow paced teams and this is reflected in the total for this game. It’s only set at 186 points so we can expect this one to be a defensive battle. The Bulls have been pretty solid defensively except for the SF position. However, if the Bulls get Luol Deng back, that should change things as he is known as one of the better defenders in the league.
With the Raptors tonight, there aren’t any fantasy options that really stand out to me. I love the way that Kyle Lowry is playing, but you are going to have to pay up for him in a bad matchup. I think Amir Johnson makes an interesting value play though. He’s really the only Raptors’ player that I will be targeting in cash games.
Chicago
The Bulls are in the same position as the Raptors. It’s not a great matchup considering the defense and the slow pace of play. The Raptors are ranked in the top 8 at defending PG’s, PF’s, and Centers on the season. The one thing to watch here is the status of Luol Deng. If he ends up playing, that hurts the value of Jimmy Butler, D.J. Augustin, and Mike Dunleavy.
I don’t love the bigs of the Bulls. If I had to choose one of the three it would probably be Taj Gibson, but I would only use him in GPP’s. My suggestion would be to keep your eye on the injury news and take Butler if Deng is out. If Deng plays, then you will be hard pressed to find a great play here.
Sacramento at Houston
- Vegas Line – Houston -9.5, 212.5 Over/Under
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Cousins
- Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Sacramento
The Kings and Rockets could potentially be a great game to target, but it could also backfire if it turns into a blowout. The total of this game is one of the highest of the night, but the Kings are big underdogs and are a very inconsistent team. I’m just not getting a strong feeling either way about the outcome of the game, so for our purposes I am going to ignore the potential blowout.
The Rockets have somehow defended PG’s well even though Jeremy Lin has been known as a terrible defender. They struggle to defend all other positions though. I like Rudy Gay as a GPP play and I like Thomas and Cousins in cash games.
- Isaiah Thomas – Even though the DvP rankings suggest otherwise, I think Thomas makes a great play tonight against Lin and the Rockets. Thomas has averaged over 40 FP’s in his last 4 games and has a great chance to reach that mark tonight against the Rockets. Look for him to push the tempo all game.
- DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins always seems to play well against Dwight and I don’t see that changing tonight. Cousins has one of the highest ceilings of any player on the board tonight and should be treated as such. I think he matches Dwight fantasy point for fantasy point.
Houston
The Rockets are in a favorable position tonight as long as the Kings can keep this one within striking distance. The Kings are ranked in the bottom 10 against PG’s, SG’s, and SF’s, and have been pretty average against PF’s and Centers. Basically, everyone is in play here.
I think all five of the starters are in play. Jeremy Lin should bounce back nicely after a down game the other night. Terrence Jones is a solid under the radar play. Chandler Parsons is a solid cash game play. Aaron Brooks makes a nice GPP play and actually would benefit from a blowout. James Harden and Dwight Howard get the honors for the top plays though.
- James Harden – Harden is extremely inconsistent this season which makes him tough to trust in cash games, but his price is low enough on most sites that it’s going to be hard to pass on him. He has a fantastic matchup and could easily have one of his patented 40+ FP games.
- Dwight Howard – Dwight is back to playing like the Dwight Howard of old. I like his matchup against Cousins and think he should continue to post big numbers here. I feel like him and Cousins are pretty equal tonight in terms of fantasy value, so take the cheaper of the two.