NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, February 11th - Page 2
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Oklahoma City at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -1, 211.5 Over/Under
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
Oklahoma City
This is a game that I am extremely excited to watch. Both of these teams average at least 97 possessions per game and they are two of the top offenses in the NBA. This game has the highest total of the night and it should stay close throughout. This is a great game to target tonight.
Serge Ibaka is a player that I will be avoiding tonight. He’s been on a nice tear of late, but his price has gone up and he has an extremely difficult matchup against Aldridge. In their last meeting, Ibaka only managed to put up 24 FP’s which is his lowest in the last month.
- Kevin Durant – Durant can make the suggested plays every day, but I’m extremely high on him tonight. In his last meeting with the Thunder, Durant put up 46 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. We all know the level that he is playing at right now and it’s hard not to take him in such a favorable matchup. You can anchor your team with him and surround him with some solid value plays.
- Reggie Jackson – Jackson is a tough player to trust in cash games, but he does have a very solid matchup tonight. The Blazers have given up the 3rd most FP’s to opposing PG’s this season and have given up the most FP’s over the last 15 days. Jackson is a nice upside play tonight.
Portland
The Blazers are also a great team to target tonight. They are projected to score 106 points tonight. The two positions that I will likely be avoiding here are the SF and Center positions. Durant has played great defense this season and could get Batum into some foul trouble. Robin Lopez also has a less than favorable matchup as the Thunder have allowed the 3rd fewest FP’s per game to opposing Centers.
The Blazers will likely be without Mo Williams again tonight. If he doesn’t end up playing, you can give a small fantasy boost to C.J. McCollum and Wesley Matthews. Matthews makes a very nice play at SG which can be a difficult position to fill.
- LaMarcus Aldridge – If his last game against the Thunder is any indication of how he will play tonight, Aldridge should be high on your radar. Aldridge posted a 29 point, 16 rebound outing in their last meeting. I think he is in for another big night and his price has come down on a few sites across the industry.
- Damian Lillard – Lillard got in foul trouble last game and he never really got into a rhythm. Before that game, he had topped 40 FP’s in 3 of his last 4 games and I think he has a good chance of reaching that mark again tonight. The Thunder have not defended PG’s well this season and Lillard should come out of the gates firing.
Utah at L.A.Lakers
- Vegas Line – L.A.Lakers -2, 201.5 Over/Under
- Utah Proj. Starters – Burke-Hayward-Jefferson-Williams-Favors
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Nash-Blake-Johnson-Kelly-Sacre
Utah
The Jazz are one of my favorite teams to target tonight. The Lakers are one of the fastest paced teams in the league (averaging 99 possessions per game) and are giving up 105 PPG to opponents this season. While the Jazz don’t have a great offense, they should be able to find some success against this awful Lakers’ defense.
If you look at the DvP rankings, the Lakers have a lot of rankings that are blue. Blue rankings typically mean that you want to target that position. Basically, the entire Jazz team has a great matchup. Trey Burke is dealing with a sore back, but he is expected to play tonight and I think this is the game that he finally breaks out of his slump. He is very cheap on a couple of sites (under $8k on DS, $5,100 on FD).
- Gordon Hayward – Hayward has been hit or miss this season, but I love the matchup tonight and I like that this game is on the road. Hayward may have to take over offensively if the role players of the Jazz can’t get it going. Hayward is cheap and this is one of the few times that I will be using him in all leagues (cash games and GPP’s).
- Derrick Favors – Favors is facing a Lakers team that is 1. bad at rebounding and 2. terrible at defending the paint. While Corbin doesn’t give Favors consistent minutes on a nightly basis, I think he should see around 35 tonight against the Lakers.
L.A.Lakers
The Lakers will be without Jordan Farmar, Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, and Nick Young tonight. They will also make a couple of changes to the starting lineup. Robert Sacre and Ryan Kelly will head to the bench and Shawne Williams and Chris Kaman will draw the start in the front-court. Steve Nash is expected to give it a go tonight, but he is too big of an injury risk and doesn’t play enough minutes to warrant fantasy consideration. Kendall Marshall is a safer play than Nash at this point.
- Steve Blake – With all of the injuries to the Lakers, Blake has topped 36 minutes in each of his last 3 games. He has also averaged close to 35 FP’s per game in that stretch. I’m expecting another big game from him tonight. He’s one of the best dollar for dollar plays at SG tonight.
- Chris Kaman – Kaman has really played well when given big minutes and arguably his best game of the season came in a start against the Jazz earlier in the season. Kaman has scored 37 and 44 FP’s in his last two and should be in all lineups on sites where his price is cheap.
- Wesley Johnson – Last but not least we have Johnson. He has also been asked to play major minutes lately and I could see him pushing for close to 40 minutes in this one. Johnson is one of those players that can fill up all areas of the stat sheet and he’s a great play tonight. Don’t be afraid to take a few Lakers tonight.