NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/27/17

The Celtics' stingy defense makes Nicolas Batum a stay-away in DFS tonight. Which other players should you avoid on Wednesday?

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.

Nicolas Batum, SG, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $6,100

Nicolas Batum's injury struggles this year have made a big dent in his scoring numbers and his fantasy value. Now he faces a tough matchup on Wednesday against the Boston Celtics, making him a player to avoid.

The Celtics are holding opposing shooting guards to just 0.70 FanDuel points per minute this year, which is the best in the league according to our DvP Matchup Chart.

Even though Jaylen Brown has been ruled out, Jayson Tatum could spend some time defending Batum, which would still be a tough matchup for the Hornets' swingman.

Jonas Valanciunas, C, Toronto Raptors

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Jonas Valanciunas is usually the one making it tough on opposing centers, but tonight he has an equally tough matchup against Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Our models project Valanciunas for just 23.9 FanDuel points, and with Adams holding players he defends to just 45.8% shooting, Valanciunas has a tough pathway to hit value tonight.

Patrick McCaw, SG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Price: $3,500

Patrick McCaw has been playing bigger minutes with the absence of Stephen Curry, but it hasn't led to much more fantasy production. Tonight against the Utah Jazz, that may continue for the former Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels' standout.

Even though the Jazz played last night, they are holding shooting guards to just 0.76 FanDuel points per minute, and with McCaw averaging just 0.62 FanDuel points per minute this season, he's not a great value play tonight.



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.