NBA Matchup Breakdown: Monday 2/11

by RotoGrinders Last Updated 2013-02-11 17:13:29

Welcome back to the official NBA Match-Up Breakdown article. This article will be available on the busier days of NBA action to supplement our daily research tools with match up notes and analysis. The focus is on the defense vs. position rankings and noting when to exploit or ignore those defensive rankings, as well as provide player notes regarding who is red hot right now and other intangible factors.

NOTES:

1) Defense vs. Position rankings are shown for the given team they are listed under. They are NOT opponent rankings.

2) Rankings shown against each position are from each team’s last 10 games played, not the entire season so they may differ from results shown on our cheat sheet or other tools.

Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers

• The Timberwolves #5 ranking vs. Small Forwards is due in part to the defense of AK47 who has been out the past 3 games. Luckily for Minnesota, Alonzo Gee is not too intimidating despite a small outburst in his last game.
• The Cavs have been horrible inside since Varejao went down and Dante Cunningham and Derrick Williams provide nice value here.
• Juicy match-up for recent value play J.J. Barea as well as top stud Kyrie Irving.

Nets vs. Pacers

• The Pacers have greatly improved against PGs over the last couple of months, making Deron Williams a potential fade.
• The Nets and a hobbled Gerald Wallace clearly aren’t the same defensive team they were early on and Paul George should be one of your top plays for Monday Night.

Clippers vs. 76ers

• The Clippers have struggled off and on against Shooting Guards all season. Lately the struggles have been on so Nick Young could be a nice play.
• Caron Butler went down with an injury Sunday and has been getting most of the SF minutes for LAC. Matt Barnes is a much better defender though and that should be considered when pondering an Evan Turner play.

Celtics vs. Bobcats

• Throw Celtics stats out the window on this one. The 3OT game on Sunday Night and then traveling to Charlotte is going to have this team beat. Just be ready to use a lot of Jeff Green, Jason Terry and Leandro Barbosa and to see Pierce and KG play 30 mins tops.
• The Bobcats are not a good defensive team, but Kemba has really stepped up his defense lately. Avery Bradley is not a good enough offensive player to exploit him.

Hornets vs. Pistons

• The Hornets are struggling covering opposing Centers lately and Greg Monroe is RED HOT. He might be my top center play tonight.
• For the Pistons, their D has struggled across the board as well lately. Calderon is not a great defender and these stats don’t totally reflect that yet since he has only been there 3 games. Feel free to fire away on Greivis Vasquez.

Spurs vs. Bulls

• The Bulls 23rd and 27th ranked defense vs. Centers and Power Forwards was largely based on having Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer out. Even though both are hobbled, I’d think twice about Tiago Splitter on Monday.
• The Spurs have some weird rankings. That #3 defense vs. Power Forwards has been surprisingly built mostly with no Tim Duncan. But Tony Parker defense of late has been consistently sub-par and Nate Robinson is FEELING IT. Great option tonight with Nate Rob.

Wizards vs. Bucks

• The Bucks without Scott Skiles are a much better offensive team and a MUCH worse defensive team. Emeka Okafor and Nene Hilario should have their way inside. Just because Dalembert and Sanders can block shots does not make them good defenders.
• Ersan Ilyasova should have a nice game against an older and less athletic Nene Hilario on Monday.

Hawks vs. Mavericks

• The Mavericks D has drastically improved of late, considering they have been bottom-5 to 10 all season against nearly every position. Still, they are not very good inside and Al Horford and/or Josh Smith should have a field day.
• Darren Collison had a nice little game against Golden State on Saturday and now draws Jeff Teague and the league’s worst defense by a long-shot in terms of FPPGA against PGs over the past 10 games. Collison could be a sneaky, GPP-upside play Monday.