NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 1/19/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Jan 19th, 2017
Nikola Jokic's price and matchup are two big obstacles that could prevent him from reaching value on Thursday. Who else should you avoid in NBA DFS contests tonight?

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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Nikola Jokic, PF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $9,400

Nikola Jokic has seen a meteoric rise in price over his last three games, going fro $7,700 to $9,400. He also scored more than 150 FanDuel points during this span.

However, now that he costs that much, rostering him isn't as much of a no-brainer. He's also dealing with an ankle injury, and while he's still probably to play, his matchup is far from good.

The San Antonio Spurs are holding opposing centers to 0.84 FanDuel points per minute this season, which is the best mark in the league. Considering his ownership might be high with a low floor given the matchup, Jokic is a player to avoid on the road. You'd be better off to spend that $9,400 on Kawhi Leonard instead.

Pau Gasol, C, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Price: $6,100

Pau Gasol's inconsistency has been real frustrating for fantasy players, as well as the San Antonio Spurs. However, his age and limitations on defense have kept his minutes down here in the dog days of January.

The Spurs know they don't need Gasol to play 30 minutes a night right now, but he's also dipped below 20 recently. He was on the floor for just 17 minutes in San Antonio's last game, and with David Lee back, Dewayne Dedmon playing well and the ability to go small with LaMarcus Aldridge at center, Gasol could be the odd man out.

In a bad matchup against Jokic, Gregg Popovich may decide to play Dedmon more for the second straight game. Jokic presents similar issues like Karl-Anthony Towns did a few nights ago, so lay off Gasol and his fluid minutes.

Kyle O'Quinn, C, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $4,900

Kyle O'Quinn completely blew up and burned everyone who rostered him on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Guillermo Hernangomez was outstanding with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 20 minutes, and Marshall Plumlee even out-played O'Quinn despite only scoring 5 points while grabbing 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 20 minutes.

All things considered, O'Quinn's price went up. If he starts again on Thursday, it's hard to trust him against Marcin Gortat, who will try and put him into foul trouble early in the game. O'Quinn is still in play if Joakim Noah sits, but after Wednesday's performance, he's nowhere near being a cash game play.