NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/18/19

With the Knicks keeping Mitchell Robinson's minutes down, the rookie big man is a tough play in DFS. Who else are we avoiding on Monday's nine-game slate?

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?

Terry Rozier, PG, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Price: $6,500

Terry Rozier is a boom or bust fantasy play and is poised to bust on Monday versus the Denver Nuggets.

On Monday, the Boston Celtics' backcourt is expected to be healthy and without any limitations. That will limit Rozier to a bench role. He averages just 21.4 minutes as a reserve compared to 30.9 as a starter. In those bench minutes, Rozier isn't producing as much, either, as he averages only 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists for 18.9 FanDuel points per game. He has collected 19.9 or fewer FanDuel points in 8 of the last 10 games he's played with the second unit, making it difficult to play him when he's working off the bench.

If that wasn't enough, the matchup against the Nuggets is a difficult one as well. They have held opponents to the sixth-fewest points per game (106.7) since the All-Star Break while restricting them to just 31.8% shooting from beyond the arc, the fourth-lowest rate in the NBA. For the season, the Nuggets give up only 0.86 FanDuel points per minute to point guards, the second-lowest rate in the league.

Mitchell Robinson, C, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $6,100

In a down season for the New York Knicks, rookie center Mitchell Robinson’s emergence this year has been one of the few bright spots.

Robinson has flashed the potential to be a Defensive Player of the Year someday as he averages 2.4 blocks in just 18.9 minutes per game. Thanks to his rim protection abilities, Robinson is capable of racking up big DFS performances.

However, in his last three games, the Knicks have limited his minutes, playing Robinson fewer than 21 minutes in each contest, holding back his fantasy output to an average of 17.8 FanDuel points per night. In those games, coach David Fizdale stubbornly gave veteran DeAndre Jordan over 31 minutes in each, holding back any big night Robinson could have had coming. Playing sub-20 minutes against a tough foe like Marc Gasol and the Toronto Raptors will put a damper on the rookie's outlook, too.

The Raptors have been pretty stout against centers all year, surrendering 1.1 FanDuel points per minute to the position, the ninth-lowest rate this season. Gasol, a former DPOY, has slowed a bit this season but still ranks in the top-20 in defensive rebound percentage (25.3%) and has blocked 1.1 shots per game.

Will Barton, SF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,900

Will Barton has been off his game recently, posting three games with 11 or fewer points in his last four contests. The Denver Nuggets' small forward went 8-for-29 (27.5%) from the floor in those three games, holding back his DFS production to just 21.1 FanDuel points per night. That downturn in scoring came against some of the softer defense in the league, too. On Monday, his path to points gets even tighter as he faces a top-five defensive unit in the Celtics.

Boston ranks fifth in defensive rating, opponent’s field goal percentage, and three-point percentage. They are limiting those they face to under 108 points per game, a top-seven average in the NBA. While the Celtics have been hard on nearly every position, small forwards individually rank in the bottom-eight of the league with an average of 0.83 FanDuel points per minute.

That leaves Barton a long-shot to reach value on a nine-game slate with a wealth of superior small forward options.



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.