NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/11/19

Otto Porter and the Bulls have a daunting task against the Bucks on Monday. What other players are we steering clear of in DFS 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 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?

Otto Porter, SF, Chicago Bulls

FanDuel Price: $6,700

In Otto Porter’s first two games with the Chicago Bulls, the forward has been getting plenty of minutes (34.0 per game) and scoring a good chunk of points (17.5 per game), but his fantasy points have lagged due to a lack of contributions in other counting stats. He averaged 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks for 26.4 FanDuel points. If he posted that same total on Monday with his $6,700 cost, Porter would bring just 3.9 FanDuel points per $1,000 of salary. The matchup on Monday is a lopsided one too, as he and the 13-43 Bulls are facing the NBA’s best team, the Milwaukee Bucks.

The matchup also pits the worst offense in the NBA and the best D in the Association. The Bulls rank 30th with a 103.0 offensive rating while the Bucks are tops in defensive rating (103.8) this season. The Bucks are also limiting opponents to a league-low 43.5% shooting percentage and opposing small forwards to just 0.82 FanDuel points per minute, the fourth-lowest rate in the NBA this season, amplifying the terrible matchup for Porter.

Al-Farouq Aminu, PF, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $5,100

Al-Farouq Aminu has seen his minutes drop over the last few weeks, tanking his fantasy value. The Portland Trail Blazers' forward is still starting, but the emergence of Jake Layman has limited his court time to just 21.6 minutes over his last 6 games. He is averaging just 7.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists for 18.3 FanDuel points per game. In three of his last four times out, Aminu has failed to surpass 12 FanDuel points. During that same six-game stretch, Layman has averaged 29.2 minutes, taking over as the primary power forward for Portland. Even if Aminu reverses that trend, he faces an unfavorable matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

The Thunder are limiting opposing power forwards to below-average fantasy points, surrendering the fourth lowest FanDuel points per minute to the position, of the 18 teams playing on Monday. OKC also ranks in the top-10 with a 51.1% rebound percentage over their last 10 games. The Thunder also hold opponents to 36.6% shooting on shots 15’ or further from the rim, the fifth-lowest rate in the NBA. Aminu takes 54.5% of his shots from 16’ out.

Shabazz Napier, PG, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Price: $5,000

Shabazz Napier's time as a useful fantasy option is coming to an end as the Brooklyn Nets start to get some of their bench options back from injury.

Last time out, Napier saw just 12 minutes of action as Caris LeVert played in his first game in nearly three months. Allen Crabbe also played 21 minutes in his second game back from an extended absence. Their presence in the lineup will drop Napier into the teens, at best, for minutes played. A dramatic drop after he averaged over 25 minutes with Spencer Dinwiddie hurt since January 23. Even if DeMarre Carroll does not play, which could push Napier close to 20 minutes on Monday, stay away from Bazz as the Toronto Raptors have been reasonably stout against point guards this season.

The Raps have allowed just 0.87 FanDuel points per minute to point guards, the sixth-lowest rate in the NBA this season. Toronto has also held opponents the eighth-lowest field goal and three-point percentage this season while forcing the ninth-most turnovers.


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.