3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 10/20/17
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.
Dennis Schroder, PG, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Price: $8,100
Dennis Schroder is now the unquestioned leader of the Atlanta Hawks in their quest to rebuild. The young point guard hoisted 26 shots in his first game of the season against the Dallas Mavericks, but he has to face a much tougher defensive team in the Charlotte Hornets tonight. Since he became the starter in Atlanta, Schroder has not fared well against the Hornets.
In Schroder's last three games against the Hornets as a starter, he is averaging just 25.0 FanDuel points. He scored fewer than 20 FanDuel points in two of those three games. The Hornets' team defense and Kemba Walker might have something to do with it.
Walker held opponents to 44.7% shooting from the floor last season, which was slightly lower than those players' average shooting percentage in 2016-17. There is also the factor of new Hornet Dwight Howard protecting the rim. It's hard to see Schroder shooting 50% from the floor again against the Hornets in Charlotte.
Last season, Charlotte held opponents to 103.4 points per game at home, and in victories, that dropped to 94.8. Vegas has the Hornets favored by 4 1/2 points in this one, so it's hard to see the Hawks putting up big offensive numbers.
Andrew Wiggins, SG, Minnesota Timberwolves
FanDuel Price: $6,800
After dropping 26 points (32.5 FanDuel points) against the Kawhi Leonard-less San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, Andrew Wiggins has a difficult defensive matchup against Joe Ingles, as his Minnesota Timberwolves welcome the Utah Jazz to the Target Center.
Last season, Ingles ranked inside the top-10 among small forwards in defensive win shares and held opponents to just 43.2% shooting from the floor. With the Jazz and Wolves opening up with very slow paces of 95.5 and 94.5, respectably, to start the season, it's going to be hard to find any fantasy value in this game.
Marcin Gortat, C, Washington Wizards
FanDuel Price: $6,100
Marcin Gortat had a huge game to start the season against the Philadelphia 76ers, posting 16 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks against Joel Embiid. At a price tag of just $6,100, that should make him a popular mid-priced option at center tonight. However, our models predict a regression game for the Washington Wizards' veteran center.
We peg Gortat for just 25.2 FanDuel points against the Detroit Pistons. For that, we can thank Andre Drummond.
In their last five meetings against one another, Gortat has played more than 30 minutes just once and is averaging only 25.6 FanDuel points per game. Whether it's foul trouble or a lack of shot attempts, Gortat is in danger of being a landmine after his big opening night performance.
Jordan Sharp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jordan Sharp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TEHSHARP. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
