NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/10/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Mar 10th, 2017
James Harden will run up against Jimmy Butler tonight in a matchup you'll want to avoid. Which other NBA players should you leave off your DFS rosters on Friday?

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.

James Harden, SG, Houston Rockets

FanDuel Price: $11,800

For those casually looking at James Harden's splits against the Chicago Bulls this season, he seems like a must-play despite his astronomical salary of $11,800. However, Jimmy Butler did not play in that last game due to a heel bruise that sidelined him for four games.

On Friday, Butler's mission will be to contain Harden. In their last four head-to-head matchups, Butler has limited The Beard to an average of just 39.2 FanDuel points and 38.6% shooting from the floor. He's also never had more than 46 FanDuel points in nine career meetings.

Obviously, this a new and more ball-dominant Harden under head coach Mike D'Antoni, but Butler's stout defense is still going to play in this one. He's holding opposing players to just 43.3% shooting from the floor, including 29.9% from deep. As a team, they're holding opposing shooting guards to 0.75 FanDuel points per minute.

At Harden's price, you need him to score close to 60 FanDuel points to reach value, and this lineup for Chicago should be much different than what it was when he went off for 71.9 FanDuel points against the Bulls a month ago.

Jeff Teague, PG, Indiana Pacers

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Jeff Teague has been solid in his first season with the Indiana Pacers, but he is currently in a small slump with an effective field goal percentage of just 45.3% in his last four games.

It won't get any easier against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team he has struggled against so far this season. In his last game against Milwaukee, Teague scored a season-low 2 points in 32 minutes.

This is partially because of the defensive depth the Bucks have in Matthew Dellavedova and the emergence of Malcolm Brogdon, but as a team, they're holding opposing point guards to just 0.82 FanDuel points per minute.

Yogi Ferrell, PG, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,200

Yogi Ferrell has been a pretty consistent fantasy asset on a nightly basis, but at $5,200 and with J.J. Barea making his return tonight, Ferrell could see his minutes reduced.

Barea will likely see a strict minutes limit, but even if he plays just 10-12 minutes, those will probably all come at his expense.

The only worry is that Ferrell could see some garbage time minutes with the Dallas Mavericks as 10-point favorites. While he could be a sneaky tournament play, Barea's impending return took away all his cash-game appeal.