NBA Grind Down: Wednesday, January 8th - Page 2
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Washington at New Orleans
- Vegas Line – New Orleans -4, 199 Over/Under
- Washington Proj. Starters – Wall-Beal-Ariza-Booker-Gortat
- New Orleans Proj. Starters – Holiday-Evans-Aminu-Davis-Smith
Washington
Both of these teams are playing in back to backs which doesn’t necessarily help or hurt either of their fantasy values. This game is expected to be fairly close and fairly high scoring. The Pelicans have not been good defensively this season. If you look at their DvP rankings, you will see a lot of rankings that are green and blue. That means favorable matchups for the Wizards.
I will likely be avoiding Trevor Ariza, he has had 3 awful fantasy games in a row and even though I’m a player that believes in the bounce back, I think he is a little too risky at this point. I will also be staying away from both Trevor Booker and Nene Hilario, Wittman seems to go with the hot hand of the two.
- John Wall – Wall’s price has come down across the industry and I think this is a nice spot to buy low on him. The Pelicans really look to push the pace and Wall should play well in an uptempo style of game. He is at his best when he is in transition attacking the rim.
New Orleans
The Pelicans will be without Ryan Anderson for the foreseeable future and if last night’s game was any indication of how the minutes will be distributed going forward, we can expect huge things from Anthony Davis. He played 41 minutes last night. While I expect that number to come down with this game being the second of a back to back, I still think he is one of the top fantasy plays today. In addition to Davis, I think Jrue Holiday is in play. He’s had a few down games in a row, but a favorable matchup should get him going again.
- Al-Farouq Aminu – Aminu played 31 minutes last night and something tells me that he may see even more than that tonight. With Anderson out, there are a lot of minutes to go around and Aminu should pick up quite a few of those. He is one of my favorite under the radar plays tonight.
L.A.Lakers at Houston
- Vegas Line – No Lines Set for This Game Yet
- L.A.Lakers Proj. Starters – Marshall-Meeks-Young-Williams-Gasol
- Houston Proj. Starters – Lin-Harden-Parsons-Jones-Howard
L.A.Lakers
If this game could stay close, there would be great options on both sides. However, the Rockets are favored by 14 points and the Lakers have gotten blown out in back to back games. I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is over by the end of the third quarter. That said, I still think you can target a few players from this game due to the fast pace of play and the fact that neither team likes to defend.
- Jodie Meeks – Meeks has really stepped up for the Lakers. He has topped 23 fantasy points in 9 of his last 10 games and I don’t see a reason why he shouldn’t top that mark again tonight. He is one of my favorite plays at the SG position tonight.
- Nick Young – Young is coming off of his worst game of the season. He only played 19 minutes and only scored 2 points. After the game he was complaining about a bad back, but I think that comment is to save face more than anything. Look for Swaggy P to bounce back nicely in tonight’s game against the Rockets. The best part about Young is that he should see garbage time even if it’s a blowout.
Houston
The Rockets have a fantastic matchup, but they are 14 point favorites. It’s hard to predict blowouts in the NBA, but I have a hard time seeing the Lakers keeping this one close. I think the pace of play and the matchup put a couple of Rockets in play, but I think I will be fading both Dwight Howard and James Harden due to the potential blowout. I like the matchup for them both, but they are just a little too risky for me on a night with a full slate of games.
One injury note: Chandler Parsons is listed as a game-time decision. If he can’t play tonight, give a nice boost to both Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi.
- Jeremy Lin – I do like the mid-tier players from the Rockets tonight. The Lakers are ranked 28th against opposing PG’s this season and Lin is cheap across the board. I think we see Lin come out and put on one of his classic Linsanity performances.
- Terrence Jones – Jones seems to fly under the radar every night. I guess the fact that he is basically the 5th offensive option scares people away from him. However, he still has great upside and is cheap across the board. I love the matchup against the Lakers.
Orlando at Portland
- Vegas Line – Portland -13.5, 205 Over/Under
- Orlando Proj. Starters – Nelson-Afflalo-Harris-Davis-Maxiell
- Portland Proj. Starters – Lillard-Matthews-Batum-Aldridge-Lopez
Orlando
Two games in a row with a double-digit spread. The Magic just got crushed by the Clippers the other night and will likely be in for another tough outing tonight against the Blazers. The Magic will be without Nikola Vucevic tonight after he suffered a concussion in their last game. While that hurts their chances of winning this game, it helps the fantasy value of both Glen Davis and Tobias Harris. Even in a potential blowout, I think they both make solid plays tonight with Davis being the better option of the two.
- Glen Davis – The Vucevic injury benefits Davis in two ways. First, he will pick up extra minutes and production in his absence. And second, he will now slide over and start at Center. I like the matchup against lopez much more than the matchup against Aldridge. Davis makes one of the better cash game plays tonight.
Portland
The Blazers are huge favorites and they are playing in a back to back game. Typically in these situations, coaches only play their starters as much as they absolutely need to. If the Blazers get up big, don’t be surprised to see the starters get pulled quick. I don’t think I will be paying the price for Aldridge, Batum, or Lillard. However, I do think Robin Lopez makes a nice punt option at Center.
Boston at L.A.Clippers
- Vegas Line – L.A.Clippers -10.5, 194.5 Over/Under
- Boston Proj. Starters – Crawford-Bradley-Green-Sullinger-Bass
- L.A.Clippers Proj. Starters – Collison-Crawford-Dudley-Griffin-Jordan
Boston
All the early games are expected to be close and all of the late games are expected to be potential blowouts. The Celtics put up a dud last night in Denver and now have to take on the Clippers who have played surprisingly well without Chris Paul. I don’t see any value here outside of a GPP play or two.
L.A.Clippers
The Clippers don’t have the best matchup on paper, but with no Chris Paul, both Darren Collison and Jamal Crawford get a huge boost in fantasy value. DeAndre Jordan also has a nice matchup, but I think the potential blowout takes Blake Griffin out of play.
- Darren Collison – Collison has stepped up and played great in Paul’s absence. His price has gone up across the board, but I still think he carries value on most sites. The Clippers don’t really have a backup PG and he should see big minutes.
- Jamal Crawford – Crawford is the starting SG and has also been playing some backup PG. He’s one of my favorite values tonight at the SG position.