NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, April 9th
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 Cleveland
- Vegas Line – Cleveland -6.5, 207 Over/Under
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Singler-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
- Cleveland Proj. Starters – Irving-Waiters-Deng-Thompson-Hawes
Detroit
We start the night off with an intriguing game between two poor defensive teams. The early lines set to 207 with a 6.5 point spread favoring Cleveland which is pretty much expected since the Pistons are terrible. There are a few major question marks for DET tonight though. Will Josh Smith play? If he doesn’t, look for Rodney Stuckey to start again and both Monroe/Drummond to pick up a little added production. Will Will Bynum return? It looks like he’s doubtful right now and that benefits Stuckey even more as well as slightly helping Brandon Jennings, although he’s been impressively bad of late.
- Andre Drummond – I’m thinking the Pistons use Varejao, when in the game, on Monroe since he’s the better offensive/scoring threat. That should leave Drummond open to bang the boards against either Hawes or Thompson, which is terrific news for a guy coming off a 19 and 18 night.
- Rodney Stuckey – Stuckey is absolutely in play if Smith is out again. He’s even in play if Smith goes. He’s averaging 37 FPPG over his last two contests and this is a tasty matchup.
Cleveland
The Cavs come into this one in desperate need for a win and some help, which came last night at the hands of these very Pistons. Detroit took down Atlanta last night and while the Cavs chances are miniscule, at least the hope is still there. Tonight they get Detroit who ranks no better than 19th in any defense vs. position split (season or last 15) against any position. Those are numbers usually only spoken in the same breath as the Lakers and 76ers, so it should give you a good idea for just how bad DET’s defense has been.
- Kyrie Irving – Fresh off a monster game where he took 31 shots, I expect Irving to pass a little more in this one, but the rule of thumb with him still is ‘play him at home’ and that’s the case today.
Brooklyn at Orlando
- Vegas Line – Brooklyn -5.5, 194 Over/Under
- Brooklyn Proj. Starters – Williams-Livingston-Johnson-Pierce-Plumlee
- Orlando Proj. Starters – Nelson-Afflalo-Harkless-O’Quinn-Vucevic
Brooklyn
In case you were caught up in MLB, the Nets took down the big, bad Heat on an incredible block by ‘Plums’ last night on LeBron’s buzzer beating dunk attempt. That game was pretty rugged through and through and you can be sure that Jason Kidd is going to be very cautious with his guys tonight. KG sat out on Monday, but is probable today, and there could easily be a few guys who find themselves resting tonight vs. the lowly Magic. Andray Blatche is already listed as questionable, for example. I’d say just keep an eye out for that and if there’s strong value available, use it but otherwise avoid the Nets.
Orlando
With Vucevic being downgraded to doubtful tonight, the prospects of putting up much of an effort vs. the strong Nets defense got even lower. The entire Magic offense through him so without him there are a lot more touches to go around, but the overall efficiency of those touches plummets. The one guy who has really stood out though is Kyle O’Quinn, topping 30 in one of the games w/o Vuc and 40 in the other. The Magic seem hell-bent on getting him ready for the future and he’s finally paying off, making him a price-dependent value option.
- Kyle O’Quinn – If Vuc sits, O’Quinn could be a nice cheapie on sites like DK where he’s just $4400.
Philadelphia at Toronto
- Vegas Line – Toronto -13, 206.5 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Thompson-Young-Sims
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Vasquez-Derozan-Ross-Patterson-Valanciunas
Philadelphia
The Sixers head to Canada where they’ll be 13 point road dogs on Wednesday night. There are a couple of big question marks for the Raptors tonight in there rotation that will directly impact how you should approach Philly this evening. If Lowry goes, he’s a much better defender than Greivis Vasquez and the prospects for MCW should drop a little. If Lowry sits, MCW is definitely in play. Beyond that, you can expect the usual rotations from the Sixers who are relatively healthy right now and have no recent injury updates beyond Arnett Moultrie returning from suspension.
Toronto
The Raptors are in a terrific spot tonight against the 76ers and it would almost be nice to see Lowry and Amir Johnson sit out one more game so Greivis and Patrick Patterson could be targeted for cheap this evening. It’s no secret the Sixers have struggled defensively but they are 4th against PGs over the last 15 days, though I’d attribute that to more of an anomaly than an indicator of improved defense. Watch the injury news closely here then make your Raptors decisions based on that.
- Jonas Valanciunas – Big Val has been playing some really good ball of late, scoring no less than 27 FPs in each of his last 6 games. His price is still reasonable and while his upside is somewhat limited, especially if Amir plays, you can safely target him in cash games in this matchup.
Charlotte at Washington
- Vegas Line – Washington -5.5, 192.5 Over/Under
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Booker-Gortat
Charlotte
Two teams with their power forwards probable to return to the lineups on Wednesday square off in DC. For the Bobcats, Josh McRoberts is listed as probable to return to the rotation and that means any value Cody Zeller once had is all but eliminated. Zeller wasn’t very productive in the role and this offense is so focused on the duo of Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson that it’s hard to ever find much value in anyone else. Kemba leads the NBA in touches per game and Big Al is one of the most used Centers in all of basketball.
- Al Jefferson – The Bobcats rank 23rd against Cs over the last 15 days and that’s great news for Jefferson who is a 50 fantasy point game waiting to happen on any given night. He has back-to-back 50+ FP games over his last two as well.
Washington
The Wizards are also likely to see Nene Hilario return tonight in a limited role, but I don’t think it really impacts the rotation greatly. You’ll see Booker’s minutes plummet and Drew Gooden is likely to see less as well, so those two can be removed from any list of value players for the 12 Wednesday games. Beyond that, it’s a tough matchup fantasy-wise because the Bobcats want to slow the pace down to a near crawl and that’s why you see the low 192.5 O/U.
Boston at Atlanta
- Vegas Line – Atlanta -7.5, 203.5 Over/Under
- Boston Proj. Starters – Rondo-Bradley-Green-Sullinger-Bass
- Atlanta Proj. Starters – Teague-Korver-Carroll-Millsap-Antic
Boston
The Celtics are juggling a number of injuries but it looks like Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo will both play tonight, sending Jerryd Bayless and Phil Pressey back to the bench. There are a good number of tasty matchups for Boston tonight, and it starts with Rondo at the point returning to the place he tore his ACL at a season ago. Beyond that, Jared Sullinger seems likely to play big minutes tonight with Kris Humphries ruled out already.
- Rajon Rondo – The Hawks are 29th against PGs over the last 15 days which is terrific for Rondo who has an extremely high ceiling. His off-days on back to backs have kept his price tag relatively reasonable on most sites and he’s definitely one of the top PG plays tonight.
- Jared Sullinger – With Hump out, Sully is guaranteed good minutes and he’s coming off a huge 46 fantasy point effort on Saturday.
Atlanta
A few Hawks have had the Celtics number this year, most notably Paul Millsap whose averaged 45.5 fantasy points per game in 2 matchups via 23.5 PPG and 10 RPG. He’s been on fire over the last 5-6 games and the Hawks are desperately fighting for their playoff lives, meaning you can safely target almost anyone here without risk of them being pulled in a non-competitive game.
- Paul Millsap – Mentioned it above but he’s dominated the Celtics this season and without Hump the C’s are really undersized down low. He’s a great cash game pick tonight given how consistent he’s been lately.