NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/13/19

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Mar 13th, 2019
Hassan Whiteside has been more miss than hit since moving to a reserve role, leaving him out of our lineups on Wednesday. Who else are we not playing 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?

Hassan Whiteside, C, Miami Heat

FanDuel Price: $6,300

A starter in the first 53 games he played this season, Hassan Whiteside has been shifted to a reserve role the last four games. The move happened after the Miami Heat center missed a trio of games in late February with a hip injury. At first, it appeared the bench role for Whiteside was a way to ease him back into action, but a week later it seems the move may be permanent. While he wasn’t playing minutes in the 30s as a starter, Whiteside has still seen a dramatic drop in playing time as he heads up the second unit.

In those four games, Whiteside has failed to see the court for more than 23 minutes in any one game while averaging just 19.1 minutes. Naturally, the big man's fantasy stock has taken a hit as he posted three complete duds of 22.2 FanDuel points or fewer.

While the limited minutes is reason enough to avoid Whiteside, the matchup with the Detroit Pistons solidifies the decision. Since the All-Star break, Detroit ranks sixth in the NBA in rebound percentage (51.9%) and points in the paint allowed (45.6). That dominating inside presence has helped them shut down opposing centers in DFS, allowing just 1.1 FanDuel points per minute, the eighth-lowest rate in the league.

Caris LeVert, SG, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Price: $5,300

Just like Whiteside, Caris LeVert has struggled since moving to a bench role. Over the last three games, all with the second unit, LeVert has seen his fantasy numbers drop with the Brooklyn Nets' guard maxing out at 23.3 Fanduel points. During the stretch, he is shooting 38.7% from the field while averaging just 9.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in 22.8 minutes per game. LeVert’s dismal 17.2 FanDuel points per game would bring only 3.2 FanDuel points per $1,000 of salary on Wednesday.

The recent downturn includes a horrific 9.3-FanDuel-point performance in a soft matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. He went 1-for-6 for 2 points in 21 minutes. While not a scary matchup, the Oklahoma City Thunder present a much stiffer challenge to LeVert on Wednesday. Since the All-Star break, the Thunder rank 12th in defensive rating while limiting opponents to a 45.6% field goal percentage, a below average rate in the NBA this season.

Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $5,100

On Wednesday’s limited six-game slate, one matchup to limit your exposure to is the Pistons versus Heat. The game carries a lowly 210 over/under, well below the expectations for the other five contests. While we are already avoiding Whiteside, on the Pistons' side Reggie Jackson will have a hard time finding his way into our lineups as well.

Jackson is coming off an awful performance where he collected just 6.5 FanDuel points as he played fewer than 20 minutes against the Nets due to injury. While the injury cost him some court time, the point guard’s minutes have been on the decline before Monday. Over his last four games, Jackson is averaging just 21.3 minutes per night and now faces a stiff challenge in the Heat.

Miami allows the seventh-fewest FanDuel points per minute (0.89) to point guards this season. They also ranks third in the NBA by giving up just 23.0 assists per game and allowing opponents to shoot only 44.6% from the field. Add it up and it leaves us looking elsewhere for a point guard on Wednesday.


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.