NBA Tool Analysis: DvP Cheat Sheet
It never hurts to analyze or improve your research methods. Today I’ll be taking a look at the DVP Cheat Sheet tool and how it can help you.
This is a simple and easy to understand tool that can be very helpful if you’re in a hurry. It is color-coded and gives you two stats. fantasy points allowed per game by position and rank versus that position. I like to use this tool on days when my research time is limited, as it provides a nice visual breakdown of DVP stats.
To illustrate, I’ll take a look at a few of the top two and bottom two teams versus certain positions and talk about a few that stand out.
First up is the point guard position, and to nobody’s surprise the Lakers are ranked dead last versus point guards. Jeremy Lin is one of the feel good stories in the NBA and is a solid offensive player, but he just can’t guard anybody. Seeing the Nets ranked right behind the Lakers was a bit of a shock to me, as Deron Williams has been a solid defender in the past, and the Nets are one of the slower paced teams in the league. This is one of the things that could be useful in roster construction. While everyone is targeting the Lakers’ opponents, you might be able to pivot off to a lower-owned player up against the Nets and make up some ground in a GPP.
Memphis being ranked in the top two versus any position is no surprise to anyone, and you should rarely target any players going against the Grizzlies. Seeing the Wizards ranked first versus the point guard position was a little eye opening though. John Wall is turning into a very solid defender and is currently leading the league in steals per game. However, defense isn’t always the only thing that you want to think about in these situations. John Wall is a very solid rebounder at his position, so that means he is taking rebounds away from the other point guard that is guarding him. Add in a steal or two, which might result in a turnover for the other point guard, and that is a solid 5-6 fantasy point swing for the player that Wall is guarding. Adding this advanced level thinking will really help you separate yourself from the pack.
It looks like targeting the shooting guard position versus the Magic is a profitable play. At 52.66 FPPG allowed, only the Celtics and Cavs give up more points to a specific position. The one that jumped off the page for me on this though was the Heat being ranked 29th. Their defensive rankings have really dropped off this season with the departure of LeBron. Father time is also catching up with Dwyane Wade, who is no longer an elite defender.
The Nuggets are a top four team in the league in terms of pace. This chart shows us that targeting players versus high-paced teams isn’t always a no brainer and that you still need to do your research. Arron Afflalo has grown into a really good NBA player. This is the first year that his scoring average hasn’t increased over the previous season. The main factor for that though is that he is no longer the man in Denver like he was in Orlando the past two seasons. He is an elite-level athlete that flies under the radar though, and if you watch the games you can see his ability to lock a player down on defense. This is why watching the games is so important. Portland ranked just behind Denver was no surprise to me. Wesley Matthews is a thick-bodied, strong defender and I rarely target players versus him.
The last position to take a look at today is center. Nikola Vucevic is an elite scorer, but he is a terrible defender. He is soft, slow to move laterally, and is rarely in good position on defense. Targeting centers versus the Magic is common knowledge at this point. Targeting centers versus Roy Hibbert and the Pacers has not been a preferred play though. That seems to be changing this season, as the Pacers are ranked dead last versus centers. This may still be an early season anomaly, but I think we are far enough into the season where we can start to take a deeper look at this matchup.
I highlighted Andrew Bogut several weeks ago and I’ll do it again today. He is an elite defender. Don’t target centers going against him. It’s a losing strategy. Kelly Olynyk on the other hand is not an elite defender, or at least he hasn’t been up to this point in his career. With that said, the Celtics are still ranked 2nd versus the center position. One theory that I have on this is that Olynyk is a stretch big and he spends a good amount of time outside the paint. This then draws the opposing center away from the basket for fewer rebounds and blocks. Opposing teams may also go to a smaller lineup to match up with Olynyk and thus a true center isn’t on the floor for large stretches of minutes.
So, that’s I use the DVP Cheat Sheet to aid in my thought process. Hopefully this information helps you going forward. Have a great holiday weekend and check back next week as I highlight another free RG research tool.
As always feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me on twitter, @Socky21.