NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/22/19

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Feb 22nd, 2019
Facing a tough Jazz frontcourt will leave Steven Adams a difficult play in DFS Friday. Who else are we keeping out of our lineups 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?

John Collins, PF, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $7,800

Atlanta Hawks power forward John Collins is in the midst of a breakout season. In his second season out of Wake Forest, Collins is nearly averaging a double-double -- 19.1 points and 9.5 rebounds a game. He has been solid in fantasy, posting over 33 FanDuel points per night, but his price-tag on Friday is scaring us away in DFS.

At $7,800 Collins would need to drop 39.0 FanDuel points to reach optimal value against the Detroit Pistons, something he has done just twice in his last 16 games. In fact, in those previous 16 contests, Collins has posted fewer than 30 FanDuel points over half the time (9 games). Look even closer, and over his last five games, Collins is posting just 25.8 FanDuel points. That would bring only 3.31 FanDuel points per $1,000 of salary on Friday. The matchup won't be doing him any favors either.

The Pistons rank in the top-10 in rebounding percentage (51.1%) while giving up the second-fewest offensive boards (8.8). A shortage of rebounds will limit Collins fantasy ceiling, as it has other power forwards. Detroit surrenders 0.93 FanDuel points per minute to the position, the 10th-lowest rate in the league this season.

Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Price: $6,700

Another big man whose production has decreased recently is Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Adams is averaging 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game on the season, but over his last five games, the center has dropped 8.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per game. He has finished with sub-29 FanDuel points in each contest averaging only 23.5 FanDuel points per night.

During the stretch, Adams’ 14.4% rebound percentage and 16.4% usage rate have both plummeted to 8.0% and 11.6% respectively. Those games came with a depleted Thunder frontcourt as well. With Jerami Grant and newly acquired Markieff Morris expected to be in action on Friday, Adams’ value -- and playing time -- could take another hit.

The recent downturn in performance won't be helped by facing a top-three rebounding team in the Utah Jazz. The Jazz post a 52.0% rebound percentage while allowing 8.6 offensive rebounds -- the fewest in the league. Their 105.4 defensive rating also places them in the top four of the NBA as well.

Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Tim Hardaway Jr. has been hard to trust in DFS since his trade to the Dallas Mavericks. In his five games with the Mavs, Hardaway has scored 12 or fewer points three times. In those three contests, he finished with fewer than 25 FanDuel points including two games with fewer than 17.5.

The guard has solidified himself as the second scoring option behind Luka Doncic in Dallas, taking 14.4 shots per game. Problem is, he is sinking just 40.3% of his attempts, including 28.9% from three. Hardaway is also contributing little else too, posting 3.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per night. Needing a ton of points to fantasy relevant, Hardaway will have a hard time making baskets against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.

The Nuggets play at the fourth-slowest pace in the league, limiting opponents to just 107.1 points per game, the eighth-fewest in the NBA. Opposing shooting guards have struggled to get going against Denver too, posting only 0.83 FanDuel points per minute, the fifth-lowest rate in the league this year.


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.