NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/25/19

Deandre Ayton has a daunting challenge on Monday versus the Heat and Hassan Whiteside. Who else are we staying away from in NBA 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?

Deandre Ayton, C, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Over his last four games, Deandre Ayton has had some of the tastiest matchups but has failed to be anything other than ho-hum. Against the Cavs, Hawks, Kings, and Clippers -- all below-average defenses -- Ayton has put up an average of 31.0 FanDuel points. Not bad numbers, but the 4.2 FanDuel points per $1,000 of salary that would bring on Monday is less than optimal on a busy 11-game slate. Making matters worse for the Phoenix Suns' big man is the matchup against the Miami Heat and Hassan Whiteside on deck.

The Heat have limited opposing centers to the second-fewest FanDuel points per minute in the league this season, thanks to owning both a top-eight defensive rating (106.9) an rebound percentage (51.2%). Whiteside has been a nightmare for centers as he leads the NBA in rebound percentage (25.2%) and limits those he defends to 43.0% shooting from the field, 5.6 percentage points lower than expected. Points are expected to be hard to come by tonight as the Heat-Suns matchup carries the second-lowest over/under of the day (216.0).

Even on a limited slate, Ayton and his reduced ceiling would be one to avoid. Add in the wealth of center options available tonight, and the rookie should come nowhere near your lineups.

Kris Dunn, PG, Chicago Bulls

FanDuel Price: $5,800

The Chicago Bulls have been on a roll lately. They have won their last three games while averaging 119.3 points. Despite the offensive clicking on all cylinders, Kris Dunn has flopped hard in DFS.

In those three contests, the point guard has finished with no more than 16.8 FanDuel points as he averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. His minutes have started to dry up too, dropping from over 30 per game to just 24.6 last time out against the Boston Celtics. In fact, Ryan Arcidiacono has been in the Bulls’ closing lineups as Dunn rides the bench. With a reduced role in hand, Dunn is facing a long night as the Chicago squares off with the NBA’s best team, the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks rank first in the association in defensive rating (103.7) and field goal percentage allowed (43.1%). Opponents are averaging under 109 points per game, the eighth-lowest average in the league. Point guards specifically have struggled, collecting the eighth-fewest FanDuel points per minutes against the Bucks. When the Bulls and Bucks squared off two weeks ago, Dunn finished with just 16.8 FanDuel points.

Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $5,400

While Ayton has arguably the worst matchup for a center on tonight's slate, Reggie Jackson is at the top of the list for point guards in a bad spot.

Facing the team with the second-best defensive rating in the league, the Indiana Pacers, the Detroit Pistons carry a bottom-five implied point total (107.0) in the game with the lowest over/under of Monday's 11. The Pacers play at a bottom-six pace while limiting opponents to a bottom-four shooting percentage and a league-low 103.2 points per game. Even with Victor Oladipo out of the lineup, Indy has shut down opposing point guards, surrendering the fewest FanDuel points per minute to the position. A tough task for Jackson, who has stumbled recently.

In his last four games, Jackson has posted three games with fewer than 22 FanDuel points. In those contests, he averaged a decent 15.7 points per night but just 1.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists.



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.