NBA Grind Down: Tuesday, November 5th
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
Miami at Toronto
| Miami | Toronto | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 196.0 |  | Vegas | 196.0 | |||||||
| Spread | -5.5 | Spread | 5.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 97.51 | Pace | 95.89 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 8 | 26 | 3 | 28 | 2 | Season | 10 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 24 | |
| Last10 | 8 | 26 | 3 | 28 | 2 | Last10 | 10 | 23 | 17 | 6 | 24 | |
| Chalmers-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh | Lowry-DeRozan-Gay-Johnson-Valanciunas | |||||||||||
Miami
The Heat are going to be without a member of their big 3 tonight as Chris Bosh will miss the game for the birth of his child. The likely starter will be Joel Anthony, but this should open up minutes for Rashard Lewis and Chris Anderson as well. The Heat are only favored by 5 in this game and with Bosh out, this could finally be the game to play either Lebron James or Dwyane Wade.
The Raptors have been excellent this season against PG’s, SF’s, and Centers and have really struggled to defend both SG’s and PF’s. While I don’t think that Udonis Haslem carries much value, I do think Dwyane Wade is in play and Lebron James is worth consideration as he is basically matchup-proof.
Players to Target
- Dwyane Wade – Wade is averaging close to 30 FP’s per game this season, but his price is dipping down to a very playable level on a few sites. He has a very favorable matchup against DeMar DeRozan who is a much better scorer than a defender. Wade should be called upon to be more aggressive offensively with Bosh out and is my favorite play on the Heat tonight.
Toronto
The Raptors are in the middle of the pack in both pace of play and points scored per game. They are a tough team to predict on a nightly basis because they have a lot of good players, but don’t have a great player that consistently produces. Any player in that starting five can have a big game any night of the week. This makes them a less appealing fantasy option.
For tonight’s matchup against the Heat, I will be targeting the bigs of the Raptors. The Heat already had struggles with opposing bigs and now will be without their Center Chris Bosh. That leaves the likes of Haslem, Anderson, Anthony, and Lewis down low. While a couple of them are good defenders, they are going to be extremely undersized.
Players to Target
- Amir Johnson – I like Valanciunas in this matchup as well, but i’m giving the slight edge to Amir because he has played better so far this season. He’s reached over 20 FP’s in every game and is very affordable across the board. Even if he can’t do much offensively, he should dominate the rebounds and hopefully pick up a couple blocks.
Utah at Brooklyn
| Utah | Brooklyn | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 188.5 |  | Vegas | 188.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 10.5 | Spread | -10.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 96.41 | Pace | 97.47 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 19 | 14 | 28 | 2 | 4 | Season | 14 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 12 | |
| Last10 | 19 | 14 | 28 | 2 | 4 | Last10 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 12 | |
| Lucas III-Hayward-Jefferson-Favors-Kanter | Williams-Johnson-Pierce-Garnett-Lopez | |||||||||||
Utah
The Jazz have been very competitive this season, but they just can’t seem to close out games. They had leads in the second half in all three of their games this season, but ended up losing them all. The Jazz are a very young team that is likely going to have it’s struggles on the road and Vegas agrees with me as they have the Jazz as 10 point underdogs. I don’t think the big line hurts the Jazz players as much as it does the Nets players though.
Their matchup tonight is a tough one, the two bigs of the Jazz have to go up against Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett who have both held their respective positions in check this season. I still think you can take either Kanter or Favors if the price is right, but don’t over pay for them.
Players to Target
- Alec Burks – Tempted to take Gordan Heyward here, but the PG situation of the Jazz is a mess and it has really opened up some big minutes for Burks off of the bench. He’s averaging over 30 minutes per game and has scored at least 15 actual points in every game this season. He’s an even more interesting play because if the Jazz get down big, he will likely stay in the game and get garbage time production.
Brooklyn
The Nets are one of my least favorite teams on the schedule when it comes to daily fantasy basketball because they play at a slow pace and have too many good players on their team for any one or two to stand out. Having 5 potential All-Stars as your starting five may be good in real basketball, but it’s a nightmare for fantasy basketball.
They have a nice matchup against the Jazz, but I just don’t see any plays that really stand out. Deron Williams isn’t getting enough minutes and the rest of the starters are taking each other’s fantasy value away. Add in the fact that this game could be a blowout and the Nets are an easy fade for me.
Indiana at Detroit
| Indiana | Detroit | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 186.0 |  | Vegas | 186.0 | |||||||
| Spread | -1.5 | Spread | 1.5 | |||||||||
| Pace | 97.55 | Pace | 95.74 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 22 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 22 | Season | 17 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 10 | |
| Last10 | 22 | 19 | 13 | 1 | 22 | Last10 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 10 | |
| Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert | Jennings-Billups-Smith-Monroe-Drummond | |||||||||||
Indiana
The Pacers will be without their PG George Hill tonight as he is still dealing with an injury. That should open up big minutes for C.J. Watson and his price is near minimum across the board. The Pacers have been playing at a quicker pace than last season, but are still in the bottom third of the league in scoring.
I do like the matchup though, this should be a very close game so starters from both teams should see their usual allotment of minutes. The Pistons have very good defenders at the SF, PF, and Center position and even though the rankings don’t really show it, they will as the season progresses.
Players to Target
- C.J. Watson – Watson will get the spot start tonight and he really played well filling in for Hill the other night. He finished with 25 fantasy points and I don’t think that’s out of the question for him to reach that total again tonight. He’s one of my favorite value plays.
- Lance Stephenson – He has started off the season red hot averaging more than 30 fantasy points per game. While I don’t expect that production to continue all season long, sometimes you have to ride the hot streaks of players. His price is still very in play on quite a few sites.
Detroit
The Pistons are the 11th highest scoring team this season which is a far cry from where they were last season. They are playing with a much quicker pace and it’s been working. The Pistons backcourt is going to be a mess for a while as Brandon Jennings is coming back from his injury and you have Billups, Bynum, and Stuckey all fighting for minutes.
The Pacers are a good defensive team, but that doesn’t mean that you have to always avoid taking players against them. There are certain situations where the matchup makes sense.
Players to Target
- Andre Drummond – The only downside with Drummond is that the coach often has to pull him at the very end of the game due to his bad foul shooting. But he can more than make up for that in the first 46 minutes of play. He’s had back to back 35 point fantasy performances and the matchup with Hibbert doesn’t scare me.
Charlotte at New York
| Charlotte | New York | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 187.5 |  | Vegas | 187.5 | |||||||
| Spread | 9.0 | Spread | -9.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 96.36 | Pace | 94.32 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2 | 22 | 4 | 10 | 5 | Season | 16 | 2 | 24 | 24 | 26 | |
| Last10 | 2 | 22 | 4 | 10 | 5 | Last10 | 16 | 2 | 24 | 24 | 26 | |
| Walker-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Biyombo | Felton-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Chandler | |||||||||||
Charlotte
The Bobcats lead the league in a category, but it’s not a stat that they should be proud of. They have scored the least amount of points per game of any team. They don’t play at the slowest pace, but they have trouble getting the ball in the basket. Vegas has this game as a blowout as the Knicks are favored by 9, but that’s actually lower than I thought it would be.
The Knicks have continued their solid defense this season and there really aren’t many bright spots for the Bobcats offensively. If you are going to take anyone from this game, take a value player.
Players to Target
- Josh McRoberts – I think Biyombo could also be in play here, but McRoberts is the safer, more consistent choice. He’s played well this season and Al Jefferson has been ruled out of tonight’s game. I like his matchup against Andrea Bargnani too so don’t be afraid to use him for minimum salary.
New York
The Knicks rank 27th in points scored per game this season. When you think about the Knicks, you generally think of them as a high scoring team with Carmelo leading the charge, but that just hasn’t been the case this season. It sounds like Andrea Bargnani is going to start at PF again tonight, but that doesn’t mean much in the fantasy world.
I do like the matchup for the Knicks as the Bobcats rank in the bottom third of the league against SF’s, PF’s, and Centers. The only concern is that this game gets ugly quickly and the starters end up sitting the bench the entire 4th quarter.
Players to Target
- Iman Shumpert – I’m going against the DvP rankings on this one. Usually MKG guards the opponents best wing man so I think they will put him on Carmelo tonight and I think Shump makes for a very sneaky play. He does a lot of other things on the floor besides scoring so he can usually get enough fantasy points even on nights where his shot is off.
Phoenix at New Orleans
| Phoenix | New Orleans | |||||||||||
 | Vegas Pts | 191.0 |  | Vegas | 191.0 | |||||||
| Spread | 9.0 | Spread | -9.0 | |||||||||
| Pace | 94.98 | Pace | 96.15 | |||||||||
| Opponent Defense vs. Position | Opponent Defense vs. Position | |||||||||||
| DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | DvP Rks | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 20 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 17 | Season | 5 | 7 | 27 | 15 | 1 | |
| Last10 | 20 | 1 | 26 | 7 | 17 | Last10 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 15 | 1 | |
| Bledsoe-Green-Tucker-Plumlee-Frye | Holiday-Gordon-Evans-Davis-Smith | |||||||||||
Phoenix
The Suns are going to be without Goran Dragic for a little while so start up the hype train for Eric Bledsoe. He’s already shown this year that he is a dynamic player capable of putting up 40+ fantasy point nights and that was with Dragic in the lineup. Bledsoe is going to be a very popular pick tonight with Dragic out and for good reason. Bledsoe will start at the point and the Suns will have Gerald Green starting at SG.
Vegas has the over/under of this game set at 190 which is fairly low, but there are many different ways that you can go in this one. This game is filled with value plays and spot starts so don’t overlook it just because the total isn’t very high.
Players to Target
- Miles Plumlee – Last game was a bit of an aberration. It wasn’t a great matchup and he only got 24 minutes because they were down pretty big most of the game. I think he should be in for a nice bounce back game against the Pelicans. His price on DK makes him close to a must play over there. I think he tops 25 FP’s in this one.
- Gerald Green – Even though Bledsoe isn’t listed here, I do think he makes a great play tonight. His price is getting up there on a few sites though so fading him might be smart if you think Jrue Holiday can slow him down. Green on the other hand makes a nice spot start play. He scored over 30 fantasy points against the Thunder in the game that Dragic got hurt.
New Orleans
The Pelicans are playing at a much quicker pace this season with Jrue Holiday pushing the tempo. They are an exciting young team and Anthony Davis has quickly established himself as a top-5 overall fantasy option. The Suns have been a surprisingly good defensive team this season ranking in the top-10 against PG’s, SG’s, and Centers.
Players to Target
- Anthony Davis – At this price, you just have to keep taking this guy. He is averaging close to 50 fantasy points per game and is averaging more than 10 FP’s alone just with his blocks and steals per game. The sky is the limit for the Brow and I really like the matchup against Morris and the Suns big men. Look for Davis to have another monster night.