NBA

3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 11/8/18

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Nov 8th, 2018
Clint Capela has struggled against Steven Adams, leaving him off our DFS radar. Who else should we avoid 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 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?

Clint Capela, C, Houston Rockets

FanDuel Price: $7,900

With James Harden back in the Houston Rockets' lineup the last two games, Clint Capela's numbers have taken a minor hit. After averaging 16.7 points, 14.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and 43.3 FanDuel points in the three games Harden sat with a hamstring injury, Capela is posting 15.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks for 32.7 FanDuel points since Harden came back. That is a nearly 25% drop in DFS production.

Facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday will make it likely that trend continues.

Last season when facing OKC and big man Steven Adams, Capela averaged just 28.0 FanDuel points per game, a significant drop from his season average of 34.8. Most notably he saw his rebounding totals dip, grabbing only 6.7 per game in the three contests versus OKC. Overall, the Thunder hold opposing centers to slightly more than 1.0 FanDuel points per minute, a bottom-10 rate and the second-lowest clip of Thursday's four-game slate.

Eric Bledsoe, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $6,800

Over Eric Bledsoe's last six games, the Milwaukee Bucks' point guard has been a DFS bust, scoring more than 26.7 FanDuel points just once. During the stretch, he is averaging 24.0 FanDuel points behind 10.7 points and 6.0 assists per game. The main culprit has been the rise of Khris Middleton, leaving Bledsoe as the third wheel in the offense. His 21.0% usage rate for the season is his lowest since 2011-12. Rookie Donte DiVincenzo has started to steal minutes, as well, with the former Villanova guard averaging nearly 22 per game over the last four contests while Bledsoe's court time has dipped to fewer than 28 minutes per night in that span.

Bledsoe's matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday is not favorable for a rebound either as the Dubs are the stingiest NBA team when it comes to point guard DFS production. They are holding opponents to a touch fewer than 0.8 FanDuel points per minute.

Al-Farouq Aminu, PF, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $5,400

After a strong run of consecutive 30-plus FanDuel point games to start November, Al-Farouq Aminu has faltered his last two outings. The Portland Trail Blazers' forward has averaged 7.0 points and 6.5 rebounds for 17.3 FanDuel points per game. His usage rate has dipped into single digits (8.2%) while his rebound percentage (11.7%) is well below his career and season average.

We can chalk some of it up to bad matchups against the Timberwolves and Bucks, but it appears the presence of Zach Collins is starting to eat into Aminu's production and minutes.

With a tough matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers on the docket for Thursday, Aminu will find it hard to produce once again. The Clips hold opposing power forwards to 0.83 FanDuel points per minute, the third-lowest rate in the NBA this season. The emergence of Tobias Harris on the glass -- career-high 8.2 rebounds per game -- has helped L.A. become a top-10 rebounding team (51.5% rebound percentage) this season.


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.