3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 11/19/18
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?
DeAndre Jordan, C, Dallas Mavericks
FanDuel Price: $7,200
DeAndre Jordan started his Dallas Mavericks career on fire. In his first seven games, he averaged 14.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He scored at least 35.6 FanDuel points in six of seven games as he averaged 41.7 FanDuel points per night. Since Halloween, though, Jordan has been a different player.
In the last eight games, the big man has seen his involvement in the offense dry up as he has averaged just 7.8 points on fewer than 5 shots per game. His minutes have dropped, too, from 34.5 in the first two weeks to under 30 per game since. As expected, his DFS production has suffered with Jordan collecting more than 28 FanDuel points just once in the last eight contests. Monday will be tough for him to be productive again as the Mavs face the Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis plays at the slowest pace in the league, taking and allowing the fewest number of shot attempts per game. Fewer shots mean fewer rebound opportunities for Jordan, the only stat holding his DFS value upright. Add in the Grizzlies and Marc Gasol giving up less than 1.0 FanDuel points per minute to centers and it's best to stay away from Jordan on Monday.
Ricky Rubio, PG, Utah Jazz
FanDuel Price: $6,500
In three of Ricky Rubio’s last four games, the Utah Jazz point guard has been a bust in DFS, finishing with 27.1 or fewer FanDuel points as Rubio has seen his assists dry up. After averaging, 7.9 dimes in his first 12 games, with a 37.7% assist percentage, the Spaniard has posted an 18.9% rate while dishing out 2.8 assists in the last week. Facing the Indiana Pacers on Monday does not provide the favorable matchup Rubio needs for a rebound.
The Pacers rank top-three in defensive rating while playing at the third-slowest pace in the NBA. Opponents are scoring just 101.4 points with 22.2 assists per game, both bottom-seven marks in the league. The over/under for Jazz-Pacers is the second-lowest total (205.0) of Monday’s nine-game slate. Indiana also ranks in the top-four against opposing point guards, limiting them to just 0.84 FanDuel points per minute.
Nicolas Batum, SF, Charlotte Hornets
FanDuel Price: $5,500
Calling Nicolas Batum a fantasy bust in the last two weeks is an understatement. After filling up the stat sheet with 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals for 27.9 FanDuel points per game in his first 10 games of the season, the Charlotte Hornets' swingman has disappeared on the court in DFS. Batum is averaging 6.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists for 18.2 FanDuel points a night. As he faces the Boston Celtics on Monday, Batum’s struggles are likely to continue.
Defensively, the Celtics rank in the top-four in holding opponents in points per game (102.6) and assists per game (21.8). They own the best defensive rating (101.3) while running at the eighth-slowest pace in the league. Both are not conducive to fantasy scoring.The Boston wing men, led by Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward, have held opposing small forwards to just 0.86 FanDuel points per minute.
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.
