3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/3/18
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?
Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons
FanDuel Price: $6,400
After a resurgent streak in November, Reggie Jackson has returned to a mediocre DFS play in his last two games. Against the Bulls and Warriors, Jackson averaged 26.5 FanDuel points while posting a hollow line of 18.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals in 26.8 minutes per game.
On Monday, the Detroit Pistons’ point guard faces an even stiffer matchup as the Oklahoma City Thunder allow 0.86 FanDuel points per minute to point guards, the seventh-lowest rate in the NBA this season.
Making matters worse for Jackson, OKC has been playing elite-level D the last few weeks. When offensive catalyst Russell Westbrook went down with injury on November 7, the Thunder were forced to focus on their defense to win games. In the six games Russ missed, OKC posted a 99.0 defensive rating, holding opponents to 96.8 points per game. In the last six games, with Westbrook back, the defensive intensity has remained strong, with the Thunder ranked second in the NBA with a 97.5 defensive rating while holding opponents to 97.8 points per game and a 42.7% field goal percentage.
Serge Ibaka, PF, Toronto Raptors
FanDuel Price: $6,000
Over Serge Ibaka’s last four games, the Toronto Raptors' big man has been ho-hum in fantasy. He has posted four straight games with 26.3 or fewer FanDuel points while averaging just 21.9 per game in the span. It has not been for a lack of minutes as Ibaka has played at least 31 minutes in his last three games. During the mini-slump, Ibaka is scoring well -- 15.3 real-world points per game -- but has failed to do much of anything else, averaging 4.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks.
In a defensive showdown with the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Ibaka isn't likely to get back on track.
In six of their last eight games, the Nuggets have held opponents to under 105 points. During their five-game winning streak, Denver has dominated the opposition, posting a 98.8 defensive rating and 53.1% rebound percentage while giving up just 96.6 points per game. Opposing centers -- where Ibaka plays 97% of his minutes -- have struggled, too. Denver allows the seventh-fewest FanDuel points per minute to the position.
Eric Gordon, SG, Houston Rockets
FanDuel Price: $5,500
Eric Gordon has had his fair share of big games this season, but most of those have come with him in the starting lineup. The last two games, Gordon returned to his sixth-man role for Houston and has produced one good game and one bust. After dropping 26 points (32.6 FanDuel points) on the San Antonio Spurs, he ended up with just 15 points (20.1 FanDuel) against the Bulls.
The shooting guard averages just 14.5 real-world points off the bench this season, not nearly enough scoring for someone who provides virtually no other stats -- 2.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists per game. Gordon is in for a long night on Monday as the Rockets are set to face the surging Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since their trade of Jimmy Butler, Minnesota has been a top-three defense in the NBA. In their last 10 games, the T-Wolves have posted a 101.5 defensive rating and are holding opponents to a league-low 42.3% shooting clip and 101.2 points per game overall. Since Robert Covington made his Minnesota debut on November 14 (9 games ago), only one opponent has scored more than 103 points against the T-Wolves.
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.
