NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/14/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Dec 14th, 2017
Zach Randolph's minutes are declining with the return of Willie Cauley-Stein, and that could make him a DFS landmine 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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Zach Randolph, PF, Sacramento Kings

FanDuel Price: $7,500

Zach Randolph has been playing like he stepped into a time machine, but the return of Willie Cauley-Stein cut into his minutes Tuesday, and Randolph's production suffered. In addition to that, the Sacramento Kings have to face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have been good against opposing fantasy power forwards.

The Wolves are holding power forwards to 0.85 FanDuel points per minute, and because of the return of Cauley-Stein, our models project Randolph for just 28.6 FanDuel points. At his price tag, it's probably worth avoiding him on the small slate.

Allen Crabbe, SF, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Price: $4,700

Not only does Allen Crabbe have a poor matchup on Thursday against the slower paced New York Knicks, he is also listed as questionable with knee soreness.

Brooklyn is usually been cautious with their high-dollar players, and considering the Nets still owe Crabbe almost $60 million, it wouldn't be surprising to see him sit out tonight. Crabbe just came back from a back injury, too, so if he's out, look for Joe Harris to get a few more minutes.

Tyler Cavanaugh, PF, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $4,500

Tyler Cavanaugh has been a great DFS value over the last six games, but the probable return of rookie sensation John Collins makes Cavanaugh's value go way down.

Over his last six games without Collins available, Cavanaugh has averaged 24.2 minutes per game. However, with Collins healthy this season, Cavanaugh played just 9.1 minutes per game in November.

If Collins returns and sees playing time at power forward and center, there is a chance Cavanaugh is relegated back to minutes that make him avoidable in fantasy.



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.