NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 10/19/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Oct 19th, 2017
Carmelo Anthony is facing his old team tonight, and while that will may make him a popular play, his price and potentially lower usage rate makes him a player to avoid

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.

Carmelo Anthony, PF, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Price: $8,000

Through two days of the NBA season, a lot of guys playing on new teams have made the landmines, and Carmelo Anthony has joined the list on Thursday's short slate. Anthony should be a popular play in a revenge game against his former team, but his price of $8,000 -- and his almost assured usage dip playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Paul George -- makes him a risky investment.

At Anthony's lofty price, you need every bit of 40 FanDuel points from the guy. If the Oklahoma City Thunder feature him against his old team, that may not be a problem. However, if George and Westbrook both dominate the ball, Anthony's potential high ownership and price could sink your lineup.

There is also the blowout factor to keep in mind. At home, the Thunder are 12-plus-point favorites against the New York Knicks, so this game could very well be out of hand by the end of the third quarter. With all of these factors taken into consideration, it's best to lay off Anthony, who we have projected for just 30.9 FanDuel points tonight.

Brandon Ingram, SF, Los Angeles Lakers

FanDuel Price: $5,800

Everyone is excited about Brandon Ingram this year, and after a solid preseason, it's not at all a stretch to predict a big leap for the second-year swingman. However, Ingram is going to have to defend the newest member of the Los Angeles Clippers, Danilo Gallinari, and that is not an easy task for the youngster.

In his last two games having to defend Gallinari, Ingram put up just 8.7 and 19.2 FanDuel points, and with his price tag approaching $6,000, the floor simply isn't there. With Julius Randle healthy and ready to play Thursday -- combined with the addition of Lonzo Ball -- Ingram likely isn't going to get enough shots to have upside close to 30 FanDuel points.

Gallinari was also not a bad defender last season -- according to NBA.com's defensive tracking, players he defended shot 42.3% from the floor and just 33.8% from beyond 15 feet. This makes Ingram a tournament dart-throw only.

Tim Hardway Jr., SG, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Tim Hardaway Jr. is coming into a great situation with the Knicks, and tonight, he will likely be asked to take a ton of shots alongside Kristaps Porzingis. However, New York is a heavy underdog on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, and Hardaway Jr. has a very touch matchup against Andre Roberson.

One can assume the Thunder will cross match George onto Courtney Lee, which leaves Roberson to defend Hardaway. Either way, it's a rocky road for Hardaway, who is giving up several inches and 10-to-20 pounds to either guy. However, as much flak as Roberson gets for having zero offense, his defense is among the best for NBA wing players.

Last year, Roberson ranked 28th overall with 3.1 defensive win shares. Among guards and small forwards, that ranked 12th in the league. He also held players he defended to just 41.6% shooting from the floor. While Hardaway's price is appealing, he'll be dealing with a lousy matchup and an even lousier game script.


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.