3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/20/18
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?
Bam Adebayo, PF, Miami Heat
FanDuel Price: $5,800
Over his last three games (including one start), Bam Adebayo has been a bit of a disappointment, with averages of just 4.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. The Miami Heat big man has been virtually non-existent in the offense, too, limiting his potential in DFS. He is averaging just 3.0 field goal attempts and 23.0 FanDuel points per game, so if you choose to play Thursday’s two-game slate, Adebayo is best left out of your lineup as he faces the Houston Rockets.
In two of Adebayo's strongest categories -- rebounds and blocks -- the Rockets excel. Houston is allowing just 42.3 rebounds per game, the second-lowest total in the NBA. And with Houston taking so many shots from beyond the arc, they have surrendered the third-lowest number of shots blocked per game (4.5), also limiting the damage that big men can do against them from a DFS perspective.
Justise Winslow, SF, Miami Heat
FanDuel Price: $5,300
With Goran Dragic out of the Heat lineup for the foreseeable future, Justise Winslow is likely to remain in the starting five. But despite the additional minutes, the versatile forward has failed to produce enough to justify playing him in DFS, even on small two-game slates.
Over his last three games, Winslow is averaging a miserable line of 5.0 points. 3.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. He has not eclipsed 16.8 FanDuel points in the trio of games, averaging a putrid 11.7 FanDuel points per night. He is shooting just 25% from the field while committing over two turnovers per game. Against the Rockets -- in the projected lowest-scoring game of the day -- he is in for another long night.
The Rockets rank sixth in the NBA this season, as they allow just 0.81 FanDuel points per minute to small forwards. Power forwards -- where Winslow also spends time -- struggle against Houston, too, ranking in the middle-of-the-pack in FanDuel points per 48 minutes.
Eric Gordon, SG, Houston Rockets
FanDuel Price: $5,100
Despite playing heavy minutes for Houston (31.9 per game), Eric Gordon has failed to post a game with more than 21.2 FanDuel points in his last 10 games. As a player whose gets the bulk of his fantasy points from scoring, Gordon is simply not hitting enough shots to be relevant in DFS.
During the stretch, he is averaging just 13.0 points per game with minimal other stats. Gordon is posting only 18.0 Fanduel points per game, as he plays well over 30 minutes per night. He is shooting just 40.5% from the field and 31.0 % from three. On Thursday, he faces one of the best defenses in the NBA this season, further limiting the appeal.
The Heat allows opponents to shoot just 44.4% from the field, the fourth-lowest rate in the league. They also rank in the top-nine in defensive rating, leaving the Rockets with an implied point total of just 106.5 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.
