NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/28/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Dec 28th, 2017
John Henson gets a plus matchup against Karl-Anthony Towns' defense Thursday, but potential foul trouble makes Henson a risky bet in NBA DFS. Which other players should we look to avoid?

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. Which players should we avoid tonight?

Jonathon Simmons, SF, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $5,800

Evan Fournier came back for the Orlando Magic two nights ago, which really hurt the fantasy value of Jonathon Simmons. Fournier is a game-time decision for Thursday with a sore foot, but if he ends up playing again, Simmons is a player you'll want to avoid.

Even though the Detroit Pistons have been pretty generous to opposing wing players, Simmons has just an 18.7% usage rate with Fournier on the court, according to NBA Wowy. If Fournier ends up playing on Thursday, it's best to lay off Simmons.

John Henson, PF, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $5,200

Even though John Henson is still listed as a power forward on FanDuel, he has been playing exclusively at center, and that could be a problem on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. A head-to-head matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns is not the greatest, especially when Henson will be asked to defend Towns on the other end.

Henson has played well offensively in past matchups against Towns, but he is also averaging almost a foul every five minutes. Henson committed five fouls in 20 minutes in his last game against Towns, and that alone could be what makes Henson a landmine on Thursday.

Doug McDermott, SF, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $3,500

Despite playing 36 minutes on Wednesday night against his former team, Doug McDermott put up a dud for the New York Knicks, producing only 9.7 FanDuel points.

There is no telling what Jeff Hornacek will do with his rotations on Thursday playing on no rest, but even if McDermott gets a ton of minutes again, his production isn't guaranteed. The San Antonio Spurs are holding opposing small forwards to just 0.76 FanDuel points per minute, and with Kawhi Leonard back, McDemorrt should be avoided.


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.