NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 1/18/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jan 18th, 2017
Dwight Howard has a tough matchup against Andre Drummond tonight that you'll want to avoid in NBA DFS. Who else should be left off your team?

In daily fantasy basketball, finding players you want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid.

You can find a ton of great information and research on guys you might want to include in your DFS NBA lineups, but what about guys you may want to lessen your exposure to, or even fade altogether?

Avoiding players whose matchups or situations aren't as great as they seem can often be just as important as finding the best targets. After all, it only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Dwight Howard, C, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Usually, we are recommending fading players going up against Dwight Howard. However, tonight we're going the other direction because Howard is on the road against Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons.

In Howard's last four meetings against Drummond where he played at least 25 minutes, Howard is averaging only 9.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 25.9 FanDuel points per game.

Considering this is a huge pace down game for the Atlanta Hawks on the road, it might be best to avoid most of the guys from the game altogether. With Howard's recent struggles against Drummond, he is easily the most volatile player in this game tonight.

Markieff Morris, PF, Washington Wizards

FanDuel Price: $6,000

Our algorithm usually loves Markieff Morris, but today, that is not the case. It could be because he is up against the Memphis Grizzlies and their talented young power forward, JaMychal Green.

Green has been nice on defense this season, which is one of the many reasons he has earned a starting spot. He is holding players he defends to just 40.2% shooting and 29.9% shooting from deep.

The Grizzlies are also holding opposing power forwards to just 0.83 FanDuel points per minute, so with Morris in need of about 30 FanDuel points to reach value tonight, it's best to avoid him against Memphis.

Al-Farouq Aminu, PF, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $5,600

The days of getting Al-Farouq Aminu at a value are long gone, as the Portland Trail Blazers' power forward is back to well above $5,000 on FanDuel.

That and his matchup against Marvin Williams tonight make him a player to avoid. Williams has become an undervalued player ever since he started his career as an overvalued one. However, his defense is his calling card.

Williams and the Charlotte Hornets are holding opposing power forwards to just 0.85 FanDuel points per minute, and Williams is holding players he defends to just 43.8% shooting and 34.0% from downtown. Aminu is already a challenged offensive player, so with his price rising, it's best to avoid him on the road.