NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, January 22nd - Page 2
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Philadelphia at New York
- Vegas Line – New York -7.5, 203.5 Over/Under
- Philadelphia Proj. Starters – Carter-Williams-Anderson-Turner-Young-Hawes
- New York Proj. Starters – Felton-Shumpert-Anthony-Bargnani-Chandler
Philadelphia
The Sixers continue their awful season and the crazy part is that they seem to get worse and worse. They are facing a Knicks team that has been much better of late. The Knicks have been solid defensively this season and rank in the top 17 against every position on the floor over the last 15 days. The only play that I am considering on the Sixers tonight is Michael Carter-Williams. With Tony Wroten out, he should see big minutes and he does have a nice height advantage over the much smaller Raymond Felton.
New York
You know the drill with the Sixers. When a team faces them, everyone is in play. They rank in the bottom 4 against every position on the floor. Even though the Sixers have picked up their defense against SG’s over the last 15 days, I think that’s just an aberration more than them actually playing good defense. Raymond Felton, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert all make nice GPP plays and you could actually stack them for very cheap.
- Carmelo Anthony – This pick isn’t too difficult to understand. One of the best scorers in the game is facing the league’s worst defense. That’s a recipe for success if I’ve ever seen one. My only concern with Melo is that the Knicks may get up big and he may coast a bit in the second half.
- Tyson Chandler – Love Chandler tonight, especially on sites like FD & DK where his price is in the $5k range. With both Martin and Stoudemire out, Chandler is being asked to play big minutes. Big minutes against an awful defense in a fast-paced game is enough to persuade me.
Sacramento at Houston
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Sacramento Proj. Starters – Thomas-Thornton-Gay-Thompson-Cousins
- Houston Proj. Starters – Beverley-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
Sacramento
This game scares me to no end. It scares me because it has the potential for a blowout as the Kings are playing in a back to back situation. It also scares me because if I fade this game, I could potentially miss out on some of the best fantasy players of the night. The Rockets are favored by 10 points and the total is set at 216 points. It’s going to be hard to fade this game completely, so I’m going to hope that the Kings can keep this one within striking distance.
- DeMarcus Cousins – Cousins has a nice track record against Dwight and is coming off of a monster game last night against the Pelicans. Cousins is one of the few players in the league that can post 50+ FP’s on any given night. I think he outplays Dwight again here and is the top fantasy option in this game.
- Isaiah Thomas – Even though the Rockets have defended PG’s well this season and now have their best on ball defender back in the lineup, I still think Thomas makes a great play tonight. He has really been playing well over the past two weeks and should benefit from an uptempo game. He has the ability to stop on a dime and hit 3’s which is extremely hard to defend.
Houston
The Rockets are big favorites here, but even if it turns into a blowout, the starters should see some solid production against this awful Kings defense. I don’t mind Dwight Howard here, but I do think Cousins is the better play of the two. The difference is that the Kings offense runs through Cousins and the Rockets offense runs through Harden. Chandler Parsons makes a nice cash game option, he is a great two-way player that should be able to cause some havoc on both ends of the floor. One injury note to keep your eye on is Terrence Jones, he is listed as a GTD. If he can’t go, bump up Parsons, Dwight, and Motiejunas.
- James Harden – Harden is the main playmaker in this offense and has the ball in his hands even more now that Beverley is back in the starting lineup. I expect him to have a monster game against the Kings tonight. He went for 38 and 10 in their last meeting.
Detroit at Milwaukee
- Vegas Line – Detroit -4.5, 196.5 Over/Under
- Detroit Proj. Starters – Jennings-Caldwell-Pope-Smith-Monroe-Drummond
- Milwaukee Proj. Starters – Knight-Antetokounmpo-Middleton-Ilyasova-Sanders
Detroit
The Pistons and Bucks game is not all that exciting. I don’t even think Pistons and Bucks fans are too excited about this game. That said, we are only here to talk about the fantasy value of each team. The Bucks have defended PG’s well this season, but have struggled to defend the other positions on the floor. Not only does Brandon Jennings have a tough matchup, but he has been losing minutes to both Stuckey and Bynum which makes him a very unattractive play tonight. Josh Smith continues to make a solid GPP play thanks to his high ceiling.
- Andre Drummond – I heard a great comparison to Drummond yesterday, he is basically a less athletic DeAndre Jordan which I think fits him perfectly. Not to say that he can’t be a better player than Jordan, but he is very unpolished on the offensive end. That shouldn’t be a problem tonight though. The Bucks really struggle to defend physical Centers and Drummond should dominate the glass tonight.
Milwaukee
Of the two teams in this game, the Bucks have the better matchup. The Pistons like to push the pace and the Pistons have been playing some incredibly deficient defense. Over the last 15 days, the Pistons are ranked below average at defending every position except for SG’s.
- Brandon Knight – Knight’s name hasn’t come up in quite a while because his price tag has been so expensive. But it looks like it has finally come down across the industry and I really like his upside in this matchup. Don’t be surprised to see him top 30 FP’s in this one.
Indiana at Phoenix
- Vegas Line – Indiana -5, 196.5 Over/Under
- Indiana Proj. Starters – Hill-Stephenson-George-West-Hibbert
- Phoenix Proj. Starters – Dragic-Green-Tucker-Frye-Plumlee
Indiana
Two opposing styles of play face off tonight. These type of games are always good for the slower paced team and bad for the faster paced team because you have to think the game will be played at an average pace. The Pacers are in a favorable spot against the Suns and are coming off of a very impressive win against Golden State. The Suns have been pretty average defensively this season and there aren’t any matchups that you need to avoid here. Roy Hibbert and David West both make solid cash game plays, they should be able to be physical down low with these Suns bigs. Lance Stephenson makes a solid GPP play, we all know the type of excitement and upside that he brings to the table.
- Paul George – No surprise here, but George is my favorite play for the Pacers. He is one of the more complete players in the league and he should continue his extremely hot shooting tonight. George is also great on the defensive end and can give you those added fantasy points by racking up both blocks and steals.
Phoenix
The Suns on the other hand have a very tough matchup. This Pacers team likes to slow the pace of the game down and play great defense. Take a quick look at the DvP rankings for the Pacers, do you see all of those rankings that are red? That typically means avoid and with so many other options tonight, that’s exactly what I am going to do.
Oklahoma City at San Antonio
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- Oklahoma City Proj. Starters – Jackson-Sefolosha-Durant-Ibaka-Perkins
- San Antonio Proj. Starters – Parker-Ginobili-Leonard-Diaw-Duncan
Oklahoma City
The Thunder are 6.5 point underdogs tonight against the Spurs. The total is set at 204 points which is actually down a full 5 points from where the total opened at. As a whole, the Spurs play great defense and Pop is much like Belichick in that he likes to take away the opposing team’s best player. The question becomes, what do you trust more? The hot shooting of Durant or the game planning of Coach Pop? For me, I think you can get away with avoiding Durant tonight. Reggie Jackson makes an interesting play, but there are cheaper options (Sessions, Augustin) that offer better value.
San Antonio
The Spurs will get Tony Parker back in the lineup tonight. That will end the run for Patty Mills as a viable fantasy option. Looking at the Thunder’s DvP rankings, you will see that they defend two positions well: SF’s and Centers. If you are going to target any Spurs players tonight, the veterans are the way to go.
- Tony Parker – Parker should be well rested after sitting out the last game. He has a favorable matchup against Jackson too who has really struggled defensively over the last 15 days.
- Tim Duncan – Ibaka is known as a great defender, but the numbers suggest otherwise. My guess is that it’s because Ibaka is a better weak side defender than an on ball defender. While he plays great help defense, the player that he is guarding often has a good game. Look for Timmy D to do what he always does. Give em the business, fundamental style!