NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, February 25th - Page 2

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2014-02-25 20:00:12

All stat chart buttons below open in an in-screen popup window and include stat tables for all games on the given page of the Grind Down Article

Minnesota at Phoenix

Vegas Line – Phoenix -3, 213 Over/Under
Minnesota Proj. Starters – Rubio-Budinger-Brewer-Love-Cunningham
Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Green-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee

Minnesota

The Wolves and Suns game also features a very high total. Both of these teams love to push the pace and it’s expected to be a close game which always helps player’s fantasy value. The Wolves may get Nikola Pekovic back tonight, but we likely won’t know until after the first game tips off and even if he plays, he will only see limited minutes. That means Dante Cunningham will continue to see major minutes. While this game should be very high scoring, there is really only one option that I am targeting on the Wolves:

Kevin Love – Love has scored 58 or more FP’s in 3 of his last 4 meetings. I think Kevin Durant is the only other player that has had a stretch like this. Love has incredible upside and is the top fantasy option on the board tonight. You can get him in your lineups tonight too because there are quite a few value plays available.

Phoenix

The Suns also have a great matchup tonight. The Wolves are giving up 101.7 points per game. The Wolves are ranked 20th or worse against PG’s, SG’s. SF’s, and PF’s this season in terms of fantasy points allowed. The Wolves have defended Centers well this season, but will likely be without their two best Centers so you can throw that ranking out the window. Gerald Green makes a great upside play at SG, Miles Plumlee is extremely cheap on DS, and P.J. Tucker makes a nice cash game play on most sites.

Goran Dragic – Bledsoe is nearing his return, but I will continue to have a heavy dose of Dragic in my lineups until he comes back. Dragic has a terrific matchup against Rubio tonight and has a great chance of topping 40 FP’s. There are a lot of PG options tonight, so nailing that position is very important. I think Dragic may be the way to go.

Markieff Morris – Morris is averaging close to 35 FP’s per game over his last 4. He is a very streaky player and you want to target him during these stretches where he is playing well. Morris can be tough to use in cash games because he comes off the bench, but he’s seeing starter’s minutes and should be treated like a starter.

Houston at Sacramento

Vegas Line – Houston -4, 212 Over/Under
Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-McLemore-Gay-Thompson-Cousins

Houston

The final game of the night is also expected to be a fast paced game. Both of these teams play at an above average pace and both teams are ranked in the bottom half of the league in terms of points allowed per game. There are a lot of options from the Rockets tonight. Dwight Howard is in play, but he’s only averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds in 3 starts against the Kings this year. Joakim Noah is probably the better play of the two. Patrick Beverley and Terrence Jones also make decent plays tonight, but they have been very inconsistent fantasy options.

James Harden – Harden has scored at least 40 FP’s in 4 straight games and has averaged well over 50 FP’s during that stretch. He has a terrific matchup tonight against McLemore and the Kings. Look for Harden to have another big night offensively.

Chandler Parsons – Parsons makes a great cash game play tonight. In 3 games against the Kings this season he is averaging 17/7/3/1/1 and I think we can expect similar numbers out of him tonight. SF can be a tough position to fill and Parsons is a safe option tonight.

Sacramento

The Kings also have a nice matchup tonight. This game features one of the highest totals on tonight’s schedule. DeMarcus Cousins has a nice track record against Dwight, but he is still feeling the effects of a hip injury and Dwight has really picked up his play on the defensive end of the floor recently. I have him ranked behind both Noah and Howard tonight at the Center position. Ben McLemore makes a nice punt option at SG, with Thornton and Fredette gone, he is going to see all the minutes he can handle.

Isaiah Thomas – Even though Beverley is thought of as a great on-ball defender, the Rockets have given up the 3rd most FP’s per game over the last 15 days. Not only that, but Thomas has been on fire over his past few games.

Rudy Gay – Gay is a little more expensive than Parsons on most sites, but of the two, he has the higher ceiling. Gay should play well in an uptempo game and I think he makes a solid play if you can afford him.