NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 10/18/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Oct 18th, 2017
Jeff Teague faces a tough Spurs defense and a questionable usage rate on Wednesday, making him an iffy fantasy play. Who else should you avoid 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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Jeff Teague, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Jeff Teague will start his first game as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, but with a fresh crop of talent surrounding him, Teague finds himself as the fourth offensive option.

With a price tag of $7,300, it's tough to roster Teague knowing his usage rate is going to drop now that he is playing for the Wolves. Last season, Teague had a usage rate of 22.1 playing next to Paul George, and now that he is with Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, and Karl-Anthony Towns, that number may drop below 20 percent.

Teague also doesn't have the greatest matchup. With Tony Parker out tonight, Dejounte Murray is expected to see some playing time at point guard along with Patrick Mills. As a rookie, Murray held players he defended to 43.8% shooting from the floor and 31.7% shooting from distance. At $7,300, there are just too many forces working against Teague tonight to roster him on FanDuel.

Dwight Howard, C, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $6,600

Dwight Howard is also playing his first regular season game in a new uniform on Wednesday, but his inclusion in the landmines is due to one big problem: Andre Drummond.

In their recent matchups against one another, Drummond has limited D-12's fantasy value. Howard is averaging less than 20 FanDuel points per game in his last six outings against Drummond.

With Drummond coming into the season reportedly breathing better after having surgery to repair a deviated septum, Howard has a tough matchup and should probably be avoided in DFS.

Rudy Gay, SF, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Rudy Gay might be a somewhat popular play for the San Antonio Spurs tonight. Kawhi Leonard has already been ruled out on Wednesday, which means Gay will likely have to step into a bigger role against the Wolves.

However, the Spurs still have Kyle Anderson to soak up minutes at small forward, limiting Gay's upside. There is also the matter of the Wolves' defense, which could end up hurting Gay more than anything.

If Gay plays the 26 minutes we project him for, there's a good chance he'll be matched up with Jimmy Butler at some point. Last season as a member of the Chicago Bulls, Butler held players he defended to just 43.1% shooting from the floor and 30.2% beyond the arc.

Gay has posted some good games against Butler in the past, but with his minutes in question, Gay's price is a bit too high to warrant rostering him with so many good options on Wednesday's slate.


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.