NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 10/25/18

After a hot start, Cedi Osman's shot has gone cold. Who else should be left out of your DFS lineups on Thursday?

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?

Cedi Osman, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $6,900

Cedi Osman started the season on fire, averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.0 assists for 37.8 FanDuel points in his first two games. His shooting percentages of 51.9% from the floor and 66.7% from three were bound to drop and drop they did in his last two games. In his last two times out, the Cleveland Cavaliers small forward has scored just 10.0 points per night while sinking 33.3% of his shots including 25.0% of his three-pointers. That has led to a disappointing 19.4 FanDuel points per night.

Making matters worse for Osman, as he tries to break out of his mini-slump, is a tough matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Opposing small forwards are averaging just 0.71 FanDuel points per minute against Detroit, the second-lowest rate in the NBA this season. What is helping them is some killer perimeter defense. They are holding opponents to a league-low 28.6% shooting from three, a massive blow to the fantasy prospects of those players dependant on their three-point shot, like Osman.

C.J. McCollum, SG, Portland Trailblazers

FanDuel Price: $6,700

After averaging nearly 22 points per game in the last three seasons, C.J. McCollum is off to a slow start in 2018-19 thanks to some horrid shooting. The Portland Trail Blazers' sharpshooter is sinking only 35.1% of his shots for 19.3 points per game. For a player reliant on scoring for DFS production, it has been a nightmare for McCollum. In three games he has topped out at 27.4 FanDuel points for an average of 26.2 per game for the season. That would translate to less than 4x points-to-dollars value at Thursday's $6,700 cost.

The Blazers' opponent, the Orlando Magic, have been playing some tighter than expected defense too. The Magic have been grinding out games, playing at a bottom-five pace so far this season. The Frank Vogel philosophy seems to be catching on as they rank in the top-10 in points allowed (106.8) and opponent's field goal percentage (43.6%).

With plenty of other similar priced shooting guards available on Thursday, it's best to stay away from McCollum until he snaps out of his early-season funk.

Al Horford, C, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Price: $6,600

In his 12th NBA season, Al Horford has gone from a dynamic must-start fantasy option to a blah choice that is prone to disappear in a tough matchup. Through four games, the Boston Celtics' big man is averaging just 11.5 points per game while shooting a career-low 43.5% from the field. Against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers on Opening Night, he scored just nine points with four rebounds. He finished with a mediocre 28.8 FanDuel points thanks solely to his 5 blocks. Facing another tough center in Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, Horford appears to be in for another tough night.

The Thunder are surrendering the fifth-lowest FanDuel points per minute to opposing centers, thanks in large part to a league-best offensive rebound percentage (35.6%). Besides cleaning up on the glass, Adams has been a stout rim protector, limiting opponents' shooting percentage on shots 6' or closer to the rim to 11.1% less than expected. Put it all together and it could be a quiet night for Horford on Thursday.


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.