Starting 5 - Back to Back Tool: Saturday, April 4th
The Starting 5 Series will provide Grinders a quick look at the day’s top positional plays, analyzed through the lens of our Daily Research Tools.
Today, I will take a look at our Back to Back Tool. I typically use X games in X nights as a tiebreaker if I am weighing a few options at a position, so today we will take a look at some teams who have played a high number of games recently and target them with players who are rested. I use the back to back tool as a tiebreaker if I am weighing a few players at the same position, and I tend to put more emphasis on targeting teams who have been traveling a lot.
Please refer to the below chart, as it applies to every matchup listed.
POINT GUARD – ISH SMITH vs. HORNETS
While many will be targeting Kemba Walker tonight, for good reason, may I suggest taking a look at his counterpart Ish Smith. The Hornets are playing their third game in four nights, and have been traveling for every game in that span. Kemba is also likely to exert maximum effort on offense this game as Al Jefferson is likely out in a must win game for the Hornets, which will open him up as a possible defense liability tonight. The Sixers are well rested, having not played a game since April 1st, and Ish has been great since entering the starting lineup for the Sixers, and the DvP is also working in his favor.
SHOOTING GUARD – DEMAR DEROZAN vs. CELTICS
I searched far and wide for a viable SG option of a rested player vs. a tired team that has a good matchup tonight, and came up empty handed. So instead, let’s look at DeRozan, who gets to play the Celtics at home tonight. Kyle Lowly is not expected to play, which has proven to be a big boost for DeRozan’s fantasy value over the past few weeks, as he has become the most consistent option at the position not named James Harden. He has played 41 minutes in three of his last four games, and while the Raptors are playing their third game in four nights, so are the Celtics.
SMALL FORWARD – MATT BARNES vs. NUGGETS
The Nuggets are playing their third game in four nights, and have been traveling for every game in that span, while the Clippers have not played since the 1st and should be rested. The Clippers are trying to improve their playoff positioning and will be going all out tonight to win in Denver. I would think it should help the Clippers going into a game in the altitude having a few days of rest before, and while Barnes can be inconsistent with more of his teammates healthy at the moment, he could still produce a nice stat line across multiple categories.
POWER FORWARD – BLAKE GRIFFIN vs. NUGGETS
Take everything I just said about Matt Barnes and multiply it by 1000, as Blake has one of the most exploitable matchups on the board tonight to go along with being well rested. This game has the highest O/U of the night at 216, and the Nuggets are the best matchup for PFs over the past three weeks in our DvP tool. A high pace game is in order, and I see very little reason Blake doesn’t post a huge game tonight. He is a great cash play, and a top GPP play as well for me.
CENTER – MARC GASOL vs. WIZARDS
The Grizzlies are on a back to back tonight, but they have been at home since March 30th, while the Wizards are playing a back to back and third game in four nights, and had to travel from NY to Memphis last night. Gasol has been a very reliable fantasy producer all season, and seems to be a near lock for 30-35 FPTS on a nightly basis. The Wizards are also the 11th-easiest matchup in our DvP tool over the past three weeks, so don’t overlook that as they have been fading defensively as the season draws to a close