3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 10/29/18
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?
Enes Kanter, C, New York Knicks
FanDuel Price: $7,700
In Enes Kanter's last game he was demoted to the second unit after starting the first five games of the season. He played just 20 minutes against the Golden State Warriors, his second consecutive game of 20 minutes or less. The New York Knicks' big man has struggled defensively and with the Knicks sitting at 1-5, coach David Fizdale seems to already have employed the youth movement in the Big Apple. The reduced role, the last two games, has already affected Kanter's fantasy production with him averaging just 21.6 FanDuel points per game.
To make matters worse, Kanter and the Knicks' bigs face a stiff challenge in the Brooklyn Nets' center Jarrett Allen on Monday. When being guarded by Allen this season, opponents are shooting just 38.9% from the floor including a 40.0% mark from within six feet of the rim, 21.3% less than expected. So even if Kanter's demotion was temporary, there are enough red flags to avoid him on Monday night.
Jusuf Nurkic, C, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $7,100
In Jusuf Nurkic's last outing, he struggled to get anything going in a difficult matchup with Hassan Whiteside. He went 2-for-7 from the floor for a season-low 5 points. His ineffectiveness limited Nurkic to just 24 minutes played and 16.4 FanDuel points. With another tough assignment on the docket for Monday, Nurkic is poised to disappoint again.
The Portland Trail Blazers face off with the Indiana Pacers and their top-10 defense (105.3 defensive rating) on Monday. Thanks to a grind-it-out pace, which is the slowest in the league, they are allowing 102.8 points per game, the third-lowest mark in the NBA this season. Anchoring their defense is Myles Turner. opposing big men are posting a field goal percentage 1.4% less than expected when facing Turner. The Pacers overall are limiting centers to 0.9 FanDuel points per minute, the lowest mark in the league. With plenty of other options, it is best to look elsewhere for your center on Monday's nine-game slate.
Josh Hart, SG, Los Angeles Lakers
FanDuel Price: $5,400
After starting the season on fire, Josh Hart has come back down to earth the last few times out. In his last three games (all starts), Hart has managed just 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting less than 40% from the floor. While he saw hefty minutes in the trio of games-- 31.5 per game -- the Los Angeles Lakers' guard has been a dud in fantasy, posting only 20.9 FanDuel points per night. Facing the Minnesota Timberwolves, Hart doesn't appear to be a bounce-back candidate on Monday.
Likely being guarded by Jimmy Butler all night, Hart will have a tough time from long range, as Butler plays some of the best perimeter defense in the league. Opponents are shooting just 31.3% on three-pointers with Butler defending them -- a mark that is 14.4% less than expected. Sinking an average of 2.5 threes per game, Hart is dependent on triples for fantasy production. With those hard to come by against the T-Wolves, Hart won't be making his way onto our lineups on Monday.
Dale Redman is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
