3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/17/17
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.
DeMar DeRozan, SG, Toronto Raptors
FanDuel Price: $9,300
DeMar DeRozan is a tricky player to gauge tonight. According to NBA Wowy, he has a 34.8% usage rate in the 11 games the Toronto Raptors have played since Kyle Lowry got hurt. However, his FanDuel points per minute has only gone up slightly during that stretch (from 1.03 to 1.11).
Despite that, his price has certainly gone up, which is the main reason why he's a player worth avoiding on Friday. He is only $1,200 cheaper than Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has a much better matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Our models project Antetokounmpo to be the better play, and DeRozan having to square off against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope doesn't help his case.
The Pistons are holding opposing shooting guards to 0.73 FanDuel points per minute. While Caldwell-Pope is not an elite defender, he will give DeRozan enough problems to make him a player to avoid.
Jrue Holiday, PG, New Orleans Pelicans
FanDuel Price: $7,300
Jrue Holiday has had a lot of trouble since the New Orleans Pelicans acquired DeMarcus Cousins. According to NBA Wowy, the point guard has an effective field goal percentage of just 38.8% and is averaging 0.69 FanDuel points per minute with Cousins on the floor.
New Orleans has a tough assignment tonight, but Holiday might have the toughest draw against Patrick Beverley. The Houston Rockets' defensive stopper has been great on defense this season, ranking second among points guards in ESPN's real defensive plus minus and holding players he defends to just 42.8% shooting from the floor.
On top of that, Beverley has dominated Holiday in their two head-to-head matchups earlier this season. While Holiday does have one big game against Beverley in his career, he's shooting just 42.1% from the floor in seven overall meetings.
Ryan Anderson, PF, Houston Rockets
FanDuel Price: $4,600
Ryan Anderson has been one of the biggest hit-or-miss fantasy options all year. He had two straight games of 26-plus FanDuel points a few nights ago, only to follow it up with 3.9 FanDuel points in 16 minutes in a blowout win against the Lakers.
He now heads into a game where he will have to at least spend some time defending Anthony Davis. That's bad news, especially if Davis is also defending Anderson at the start.
Davis is holding players he defends to just 41.6% shooting overall, including 30.7% from downtown. Anderson trying to defend Davis is a huge mismatch, so it won't be surprising for head coach Mike D'Antoni to figure something else out.
