NBA

3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 11/27/18

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Nov 27th, 2018
Deandre Ayton faces a tall task against the Pacers and Myles Turner. What other players are we avoiding in DFS on Tuesday?

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?

Deandre Ayton, C, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $7,300

Phoenix Suns rookie big man Deandre Ayton has lived up to the hype this season, averaging a double-double (16.9 points, 10.4 rebounds) through his first 19 NBA games. He has done well in DFS too, averaging 35.6 FanDuel points per game. Over the last two weeks, though, he has put up some fantasy duds when presented with tough matchups. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was held to 14 points and 7 rebounds while just two games ago the Milwaukee Bucks held him below 29 FanDuel points. Facing Myles Turner and the Indiana Pacers stingy defense on Tuesday, Ayton could struggle again.

The Pacers own a top-four defensive rating (103.9) while playing at the fourth-slowest pace in the NBA this season. That has limited opponents to just 102.1 points per game, and only the Memphis Grizzlies have given up fewer. Turner has been stout around the rim too, holding those he defended to 47.4% shooting on shots 10’ or closer to the rim while blocking 2.6 shots per game. Centers have finished with fewer than 1.0 FanDuel points per minute when playing Indiana, which is the lowest rate in the NBA this season.

Noah Vonleh, PF, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $6,700

Thanks to a recent run of consecutive 40-plus FanDuel point games last week, Noah Vonleh’s salary skyrocketed from $4,000 to $6,700 in less than two weeks. That’s a high price to pay for a player averaging just 24.2 FanDuel points per game. In his last nine games, the New York Knicks' power forward has scored more than 20.2 FanDuel points in just 33% of his games (3). In Vonleh’s last game, he logged just 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block in over 30 minutes of action. Not a prolific scorer, Vonleh relies heavily on rebounds for fantasy value. Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons will make it hard for him to clean the glass.

The Pistons hold power forwards to 0.93 FanDuel points per game, as they limit them to just 8.6 offensive rebounds per game, the second-lowest total in the NBA. The frontcourt of Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin are to thank for that as they are soaking up a massive 26.0 boards per game. Over the last six games, the team as a whole is posting a 52.2% rebound percentage, a top-four rate in the NBA.

Juan Hernangomez, SF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,500

Since taking over as the Denver Nuggets' starting small forward, Juan Hernangomez has been hit or miss in fantasy. In this eight starts, Hernangomez has three games with 30 or more FanDuel points but five games in which he couldn’t crack 20, averaging 16.5 FanDuel points in the five duds.

It is not a case of being short-changed on minutes either as he has played at least 29 in all eight starts. The struggles come when his shot isn’t falling, as Hernangomez made 33.3% or less of his shots four times. Overall, he has averaged just 12.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 23.7 FanDuel points in 33.0 minutes per game as a starter. Facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Hernangomez will likely have a tough time racking up fantasy points again.

Over their last 10 games, the Lakers own a top-six defensive rating while holding opponents to just 43.4% shooting from the field. Opposing small forwards have had fits against L.A., averaging 0.79 FanDuel points per minute thanks to the D of LeBron James. That’s the fourth-lowest rate in the league 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.