NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/13/19

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Feb 13th, 2019
Kris Dunn's reduced role plus a slow-paced matchup will leave him out of our Wednesday lineups. Who else are we avoiding in DFS tonight?

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 takes only one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference between winning and losing your contests. Which players should we avoid tonight?

Al Horford, C, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Price: $7,500

Al Horford is coming off a big game for the Boston Celtics in which he dropped 23 points with a full stat line for 51.1 FanDuel points, his second-highest total of the season. He also played over 35 minutes for just the third time this season as he broke out of a mini-slump. His performance will earn him a few more plays in DFS tonight, but with an unfavorable matchup against the Detroit Pistons and his lousy record in back-to-backs, Horford is best left out of your lineups on Wednesday's packed 11-game slate.

Horford has averaged 9.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes for just 24.4 FanDuel points per game in the five contests he has played on zero days of rest this year. With the All-Star Break looming, the veteran center could be faced with limited minutes in a tight spot against Andre Drummond and the Pistons.

The Pistons hold opposing centers to 1.1 FanDuel points per minute, a bottom-10 rate in the NBA. They also own a top-seven rebound percentage (51.2%) and give up the fewest three-pointers (9.2 per game) in the league.

Kris Dunn, PG, Chicago Bulls

FanDuel Price: $7,100

Kris Dunn comes into Wednesday's game nursing a back injury, and the Chicago Bulls' point guard is listed as questionable to play against the Memphis Grizzlies. Even if Dunn is able to suit up tonight, it is best to steer clear of him in DFS.

Over his last five games, Dunn has scored seven or fewer points three times as he struggles with his shot. He went 1-for-9 from the floor last time out against the Bucks. Dunn is also deferring shots as the fourth scoring option behind Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, and Otto Porter, hurting his scoring potential on a nightly basis. Because of the limited scoring output, Dunn has posted 28 or fewer FanDuel points in two of the three games he has played alongside Porter. Also hurting his prospects in DFS on Wednesday is a sluggish matchup with the Grizzlies.

Memphis plays at the slowest pace in the league are giving up the second-fewest points per game (103.5) this season. The matchup with Chicago holds the lowest over/under of the day while the Bulls carry a below average 104.0 implied point total. Topping it all off, opposing point guards have scored 0.9 FanDuel points per minute against Memphis, the 10th-lowest rate in the league this season.

Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Since joining the Dallas Mavericks last week, Tim Hardaway Jr. has gotten plenty of chances to play, starting three games and averaging over 28 minutes per game. Even with the ample playing time, the former New York Knick has been ho-hum in fantasy due to a slight decrease volume.

He has averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 38.6% on 14.3 field goal attempts per game. With the Knicks, Hardaway was the primary scorer, taking nearly 16 shots and averaging just short of 20 points per game. His fantasy production has suffered from Hardaway posting fewer than 17.5 FanDuel points in two of the three games he started. He has averaged 22.4 FanDuel points per game in a Mavs uniform. Facing the Miami Heat in a projected slugfest, don't expect a monster night from Hardaway on Wednesday.

The Heat give up the third fewest points per game (105.7) and opponents field goal percentage (44.4%). Shooting guards are averaging 0.84 FanDuel points per minute against Miami, the ninth-lowest rate in the league.

With so many options to choose from on a bust day of basketball, there is no need to take the risk with Hardaway on Wednesday.


Dale Redman is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.