NBA

3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 11/13/18

Jamal Murray has a tough task against Chris Paul on Tuesday. Which other players should you stay away from in DFS?

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?

Jamal Murray, PG, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $7,300

After going off for a career-high 48 real-world points on November 5, Jamal Murray has disappointed on DFS. In the last three games, the Denver Nuggets' point guard is averaging 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.3 steals for just 27.3 FanDuel points per game. He is shooting 35.3% from the field and 18.2% from three in those three contests. If we remove the 55-FanDuel-point outburst from last Monday, Murray has been cold a bit longer, averaging 25.4 FanDuel points in November.

On Tuesday's three game-slate, there aren’t many daunting matchups. However, with Murray facing off against Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets, it's best to look to another point guard.

In a near-180 change form last season, the Rockets run at the third-slowest pace in the league, with their opponents scoring the seventh-fewest points per game so far. CP3 has been great on D as he personally has limited opponents to just 31.4% from three while Houston has given up the second-fewest assists per game (21.3). Overall, point guards are scoring 0.8 FanDuel points per minute against the Rockets, by far the lowest rate in the NBA this season.

Taurean Prince, SF, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $6,600

Taurean Prince has been mired in a deep slump over the last few weeks. Excluding a get-right matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, Prince posted six consecutive games with fewer than 30 FanDuel points. The Atlanta Hawks' forward was averaging 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 26.0 minutes per night. Prince was shooting a dismal 30.3% from the floor and 23.1% on his treys. That left him at just 20.6 FanDuel points per night. While it was nice to see a 9-for-13 shooting performance against a soft Lakers’ D, he faces a much stiffer challenge today in the Golden State Warriors.

Golden State ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage allowed as teams are shooting just 45.0% from the field against them. When opponents step back beyond the arc, the Dubs' defense steps up, limiting long-distance shooters to a 31.4% clip, the second-lowest mark in the league. In Prince’s two games against the Warriors last season, he managed to sink only 31.4% of his shots.

Even with limited small forward choices on Tuesday, it’s best to look elsewhere in DFS.

Collin Sexton, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $5,700

The Cleveland Cavaliers enter Tuesday’s matchup with the Charlotte Hornets as the fourth-lowest scoring team in the NBA this season. The Cavs have injuries to blame for that as Kevin Love, Cedi Osman, and George Hill are all sidelined. Even as Collin Sexton gets another start and the increased minutes that come with it, his outlook is not so bright in DFS.

The rookie is coming off a career-high 20 points on Saturday, but he finished with only 28.3 FanDuel points due to his lack of production elsewhere. He has averaged just 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per 36 minutes this season. That leaves his fantasy output tied directly to his scoring, which is hard to trust on Tuesday versus Charlotte.

Hornets’ opponents shoot just 43.5% from the field and 32.5% from three, the fourth-lowest rate in the NBA. Point guards like Sexton have done even worse as Kemba Walker has limited those he has guarded to 38.5% from the floor and 27.0% from beyond the arc. With such little margin for error on a small slate, it’s best to avoid most Cavs, especially Sexton, on Tuesday.



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.