NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, January 15th
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
Click ‘Stat Chart’ Buttons Below for Pop-Ups of Essential Game-Specific Statistics including Defense vs. Position and Pace
Chicago at Orlando
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Chicago Proj. Starters – Hinrich-Butler-Dunleavy-Boozer-Noah
- Orlando Proj. Starters – Nelson-Oladipo-Harkless-Harris-Davis
Chicago
The Bulls and Magic game tonight is expected to be a low scoring affair. The over/under is only set at 180 points and both of these teams have struggled to score over the last couple of weeks. The Bulls have a lot of players that are playing big minutes though which is always an important factor to consider in DFS. The Magic have been awful defensively and I will be targeting a couple of Bulls players.
- Joakim Noah – Noah will get a nice fantasy boost tonight if Vucevic is out again and it’s looking like that will be the case. With no Vucevic, the Magic have Glen Davis and Jason Maxiell manning the middle. Both of which are under-sized. Noah should dominate on the glass tonight.
- Jimmy Butler – Butler has really struggled in his last two outings and I think a lot of people will overlook him because of it. The promising thing is that he has played at least 37 minutes in every game since the Deng trade and I expect him to see at least that many tonight. I’ll take 37 minutes against a bad defense any day of the week.
Orlando
The Magic can’t wait to get back home. They are coming off of an awful 5-game road trip in which they lost each game by an average of more than 20 points. Tonight’s game should be much closer. It sounds like the Magic will be without both Nikola Vucevic and Arron Afflalo again tonight which means there are a lot of minutes to go around. I expect Glen Davis, Tobias Harris, and Victor Oladipo to take the majority of those minutes. Now the question becomes which is more important: minutes or matchup? I will likely be using these 3 sparingly in my lineups.
Charlotte at Philadelphia
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Charlotte Proj. Starters – Walker-Henderson-Kidd-Gilchrist-McRoberts-Jefferson
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes
Charlotte
The Bobcats are coming off of a nice win last night against the Knicks. Tonight they travel to Philly to take on the league’s worst defense. The Sixers rank in the bottom 3 at defending every position on the floor. Vegas has the total of this game set at 207 points which is extremely high for a Bobcats game. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist got thrown into action last night and they weren’t shy about his minutes. He played 30 minutes last night and is in a great spot tonight considering his cheap price tag.
- Kemba Walker – I also think Henderson and McRoberts are in play here, but Kemba takes the cake as my top play on the Bobcats. The Sixers have been ranked dead last against PG’s all season long and Kemba should have no problem attacking the rim and creating easy shots for his teammates. He should easily top 30 FP’s here with the potential for much more.
- Al Jefferson – Jefferson is finally putting up the numbers that we have come to expect from him. He had a big game last night against a tough Knicks defense and now gets a very favorable matchup against the weak interior of the Sixers.
Philadelphia
The Sixers are always in play thanks to their league leading pace of play, however they are facing a Bobcats team that plays at a less than average pace so expect the Sixers to see a few less possesions than they are typically used to seeing. I don’t think that hurts their fantasy value all that much though. The Bobcats have struggled to defend the PG and Center positions this season and those are the two players that I will be targeting tonight.
- Michael Carter-Williams – MCW has a great matchup against the Bobcats who have really struggled to defend PG’s, especially over the last 15 days. MCW has great upside every time he takes the floor and this is finally a game that you don’t have to worry about the Sixers getting blown out in. Tonight is the night to pay up for MCW.
- Spencer Hawes – Hawes is in a favorable position as well. Jefferson has never been known as a great defender and Hawes should be able to fill up the stat sheet. His biggest problem lately has been foul trouble, so as long as he can stay away from that, he should have a solid night.
Miami at Washington
- Vegas Line – Miami -5.5, 197 Over/Under
- Miami Proj. Starters – Cole-Wade-James-Battier-Bosh
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Hilario-Gortat
Miami
The Heat are 5.5 point favorites tonight and will be without both Mario Chalmers and Chris Anderson. The Anderson injury doesn’t make much of a fantasy impact, but Chalmers sitting out really benefits Norris Cole. He has played well in the last couple of games as the starter and his price is very affordable across the board. He makes a great value play tonight. LeBron James hasn’t been posting big enough games to warrant spending that much on him. His price just hasn’t come down far enough.
Washington
The Wizards are 5.5 point underdogs tonight against a tough Heat defense that ranks in the top 8 against every position on the floor except for Center. I think you can go the route of Marcin Gortat, but Wittman typically sticks with the hot hand with his bigs and that hurts his fantasy value on a nightly basis. John Wall and Trevor Ariza will both have to have big games for the Wizards to win this one, but they both have less than favorable matchups.
Toronto at Boston
- Vegas Line – Toronto -4, 196 Over/Under
- Toronto Proj. Starters – Lowry-DeRozan-Ross-Johnson-Valanciunas
- Boston Proj. Starters – Crawford-Bradley-Green-Sullinger-Humphries
Toronto
The Raptors are 4 points favorites tonight against the Celtics in what is expected to be a fairly high scoring game with the total set at 196 points. The Celtics have defended PG’s well this season, but have struggled against the other 4 positions on the floor. Now that the C’s have traded away Jordan Crawford, Avery Bradley will likely take over at point which means he will be defending Kyle Lowry. While I think Lowry will still be productive, it’s not a great matchup.
- Jonas Valanciunas – Big Val has been a boom or bust type of player, but I like him as a punt option as long as Hansbrough is out. He has a solid matchup against the under-sized bigs of the Celtics and he should be able to post a double-double tonight.
Boston
The Celtics traded away Marshon Brooks and Jordan Crawford which means they will likely be a little short handed tonight. I think the trade bumps up Avery Bradley and Jeff Green the most. Green hurt a lot of people (myself included) with his dud performance the other night, but you can’t have biases in DFS. You have to be able to move on and analyze the matchups each night.
- Jeff Green – As hard as it may be to take him, I think it could really pay off tonight. A lot of people will be avoiding him and the trade really opens up big minutes for him. Crawford and Brooks were playing a combined 40 minutes and with backups expected to take most of those, there will be no one challenging Green for minutes.
- Kris Humphries – Humprhies is a site specific play as his salary varies greatly across the industry. But on sites like FD and DK where he is still cheap, I think he makes a great value play. He continues to play well as a starter.
Memphis at Milwaukee
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Memphis Proj. Starters – Conley-Lee-Prince-Randolph-Gasol
- Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Antetokounmpo-Middleton-Ilyasova-Sanders
Memphis
The Grizzlies and Bucks game will rival the Bulls game for the lowest scoring game of the night. Both of these teams average less than 94 possessions per game and I actually think the total of 186 is a little high. That said, the Bucks have not been great defensively this season. The big story for the Grizzlies is the surprise return of Marc Gasol last night. If he plays again tonight, that really hurts the value of the other Grizzlies bigs. Mike Conley has a very tough matchup, even though he has been red hot, I will be avoiding him against the Bucks.
- Courtney Lee – Lee has really played well as a member of the Grizzlies and has over 25 FP’s in each of his two starts as SG. Look for him to continue his stellar play tonight. This may be one of your last chances to take him at this price before it goes up.
Milwaukee
The Bucks have been one of my least favorite fantasy teams all season long. They have a coach that doesn’t stick to a rotation, a cast of characters that are all pretty average fantasy players, and they are one of the slower paced teams in the league. Their best fantasy option, John Henson, is still working his way back from injury and is still on a minutes restriction. I think it’s safe to avoid all things Bucks tonight.