3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/13/16
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.
Eric Bledsoe, PG, Phoenix Suns
FanDuel Price: $8,500
Eric Bledsoe has won some people a lot of money over his last two games. The Phoenix Suns' franchise guard has scored over 100 FanDuel points against the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers, but those two teams are both allowing nearly a FanDuel point per minute to opposing point guards.
Bledsoe now has to go against the New York Knicks and Derrick Rose, who is an extremely underrated defender. Rose is holding players to just 40.3% shooting from the floor and 33.0% from downtown.
This has helped the Knicks allow 0.85 FanDuel points per minute to point guards. New York's pace has been going up lately, but Bledsoe might disappoint those looking to chase points on Tuesday. Our models project Bledsoe for only 31.7 points, far from the 42-plus he needs to reach value on FanDuel.
Gorgui Dieng, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
FanDuel Price: $5,500
Gorgui Dieng has been on a slow and steady decline from his early-season breakout, but he is still putting up solid numbers and minutes for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has a tough draw against a veteran in Taj Gibson on Tuesday night, who has been dominant on the defensive end.
Gibson is holding opposing players to only 44.2% shooting overall and less than 50% shooting from within 10 feet of the basket.
Dieng has been on a nice scoring streak (double-figures in four straight games), but his upside is somewhat limited against Gibson. Don't let him make you think he is anything but a tournament option.
Thabo Sefolosha, SF, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Price: $4,300
Thabo Sefolosha has been playing excellent over the Atlanta Hawks' last three games, but he stands to take a serious hit with the return of Kent Bazemore.
Sefolosha should still get a good amount of burn, but any minutes Bazemore gets will take almost a direct a hit out of Sefolosha's playing time.
Plus, Atlanta's matchup against the Orlando Magic is not great. Orlando is allowing 0.75 FanDuel points per minute to opposing small forwards, and while they haven't been great over the last week, having Jeff Green or Aaron Gordon on the floor at all times will make it tough for the Hawks' wings.
