NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, April 9th - Page 3
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Sacramento at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -13, 202 Over/Under
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – McCallum-McLemore-Gay-Evans-Cousins
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
Sacramento
A few big injuries highlight the Kings rotation tonight. Isaiah Thomas is doubtful to play so expect Ray McCallum to be in a good spot once again, though his price has risen drastically across the industry. Rudy Gay is questionable after missing last night due to the birth of his child. If he sits, Derrick Williams will see an increased role and DeMarcus Cousins gets a boost as well. Reggie Evans is also questionable, meaning either Derrick Williams or Jason Thompson could see more minutes (based on whether Gay sits as well it could be both).
- DeMarcus Cousins – Cuzzy is much better for fantasy purposes when Rudy Gay is out, aka he gets a lot more action on the offensive end. He dropped 50 FP last night with Gay out and I love him for all formats IF Rudy sits again.
Portland
The Blazers are playing a little better of late as Damian Lillard starts to shape back up a bit and LaMarcus Aldridge has turned on the beast mode button. LA has 60+ FP in 2 of his last 3 games, but is likely a better play if Reggie Evans, who’s a pretty solid defender, cannot go. This game could become a blowout and Portland doesn’t have much reason to use their stars if that happens so I’d be cautious despite a juicy matchup.
Oklahoma City at L.A.Clippers
- Vegas Line – L.A.Clippers -3, 211.5 Over/Under
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Westbrook-Jackson-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Paul-Redick-Barnes-Griffin-Jordan
Oklahoma City
OKC rested Westbrook for this matchup tonight and that should drop the value for Reggie Jackson tonight against the Clippers. The good news is this game has a nice 211 O/U with a tight spread so there should be fast paced action with a lot of scoring. Matchup wise, it’s tastiest for Durant tonight as the Clippers rank 25th against SFs over the last 15 days.
- Kevin Durant – Durant is the one Thunder player I’ll be using a lot of tonight, and it doesn’t take a long explanation to tell you why you should take him.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers at home tonight should be a fun team to target, especially with Westbrook returning to the lineup for OKC since he’s proven to neglect defense at times this season. CP3 and Blake are both averaging around 48 FPPG against OKC so far this season and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them put on a big show tonight in front of the home crowd.
- Chris Paul – As I mentioned above, Westbrook hasn’t been great defensively since coming off his injury and I think Paul has the best matchup among all Clippers starters tonight.
- Blake Griffin – It’s not exactly outside the box thinking to recommend Griffin and Paul but there’s so much value on the board today that you could probably afford the duo pretty easily.