NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/8/18

Brook Lopez has upped his game lately, but he has a tough matchup tonight against Steven Adams and the Thunder.

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?

Brook Lopez, C, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $5,300

The Los Angeles Lakers are riding a three-game winning streak, and the increased minutes and production of Brook Lopez has been a big reason for their success. Lopez is averaging 17.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks over his last three games, but all that could cease tonight against Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Adams is limiting players he defends to a 46.1% shooting percentage this season, and as a team, the Thunder are holding opposing centers to the sixth-fewest FanDuel points per minute, according to our defense-versus-position matchup chart. That makes Lopez a tough sell on Thursday.

Editor's note: This was published prior to the Lakers' trade that sent Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson to the Cleveland Cavaliers. LA should be fairly shorthanded tonight, which could lock Lopez into a sizeable role. Check for news prior to tip on what the Lakers will have at their disposal this evening.

Jaylen Brown, SG, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Jaylen Brown has been red-hot of late, but he has a really tough matchup on both ends of the court tonight as the Boston Celtics square off against Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards.

While Brown and the Celtics have been known for their wing defense this season, Beal and the Wizards have not been bad in that area, either. Washington is limiting shooting guards to 0.79 FanDuel points per minute this year, and Beal is holding players he defends to just 43.2% shooting overall. On top of that, Brown will likely spend a lot of time defending Beal, who has taken over play-making duties for Washington with John Wall sidelined.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has played fewer than 30 minutes in three straight games, and with the emergence of Josh Hart, Caldwell-Pope's playing time has put him into landmine territory for Thursday's slate.

KCP is also in a rough slump so far in the month of February. He has shot just 6 for 24 (25.0%) over his last three games, and with the Thunder holding shooting guards to 0.82 FanDuel points per minute, Caldwell-Pope is a tough investment right now.




Jordan Sharp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jordan Sharp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TEHSHARP. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.