NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 1/2/18

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jan 2nd, 2018
Courtney Lee is up against a stout Spurs defense on Tuesday, and he could see a lot of defensive whiz Danny Green. Who else should you avoid in NBA 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 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?

Courtney Lee, SF, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $5,700

The New York Knicks have the lowest implied total of any team tonight, and while there could still be some good plays from the Knicks, Courtney Lee probably won't be one of them.

Lee has stepped up while Tim Hardaway Jr. has been out, but Lee is up against the strong defense of the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday. The Spurs are tied for second in defensive rating (101.6), and they are allowing just 0.75 FanDuel points per minute to small forwards.

Lee could also be defended primarily by Danny Green, who is holding players he defends to just 44.5% shooting from the floor and 34.9% shooting from outside 15 feet. This limits Lee's DFS upside despite the game being played at home.

Jeremy Lamb, SG, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Jeremy Lamb is coming off a monster game on Sunday, a game in which he matched his season-high with 3 steals and finished with 32.5 FanDuel points. He is averaging more than 30 FanDuel points per game over his last two, but he could be a landmine Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.

Even though the Kings' defense is not great, they have limited the production of opposing shooting guards to just 0.80 FanDuel points per minute.

On top of that, the Kings' defense gets much better when they play at home. Their defensive rating goes from 112.6 on the road to 106.7 at home, according to NBA Stats, so the Hornets may not be that appealing Tuesday with an implied total of 104.5, the fifth-best on a five-game slate.

Jarrett Jack, PG, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Speaking of low implied totals, Jarrett Jack has to be included in the players to avoid tonight. Not only does he have a bad matchup, but Frank Ntilikina is taking over more of Jack's minutes, with the team reportedly thinking about putting Ntilikina in the starting lineup.

Ntilikina is averaging 29 minutes per game over his last four, compared to 24 minutes per game for Jack. Combine that with the Spurs giving up just 0.82 FanDuel points per minute to point guards, and Jack is a player to stay away from today.



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.