3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/2/16
Finding players you want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid. Here are three players based on their price and matchups that could be landmines for your rosters tonight.
You can find a ton of great information and research on guys you might want to include in your DFS NBA lineups tonight, but what about some 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 each night. After all, it takes only one player to sink a lineup.
With a big slate of NBA games on tonight, searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF, Milwaukee Bucks
FanDuel Price: $8,400
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been on a tear recently, and the young Bucks' forward is quickly ascending in price on FanDuel. Tonight, he has his highest price ever at $8,400, but after dropping two triple-doubles in four games, players will be flocking to Antetokounmpo tonight for potential value. However, with his recent price increase, along with his matchup, this could be a game where Antetokounmpo falls back to earth slightly.
Tonight against the Pacers and Paul George, it’s going to be tough for Antetokounmpo to duplicate his recent big games against the Rockets and Lakers. Both Houston and LA rank as the worst two teams in the NBA right now at defending small forwards, whereas the Pacers and George rank as the fifth best team against the three spot, giving up only 0.7 FanDuel points per minute to the position.
In two games this season against the Pacers, Antetokounmpo is averaging only 28.1 FanDuel points per game, and in five career games against George, the Bucks’ forward has scored in double figures only once. With George holding his opponents to only 41.8 percent from the floor this season, expect some regression from Antetokounmpo tonight.
Derrick Rose, PG, Chicago Bulls
FanDuel Price: $7,200
Derrick Rose returned last night after sitting out a couple of games with hamstring soreness, and now on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bulls and Rose head into Orlando to play the Magic. While Orlando isn’t an especially tough matchup for point guards this season, Rose’s play on no rest this season has been very inconsistent, and after playing on a minutes restriction last night, there is still no word as to how many minutes he'll play.
This season, Rose is shooting only 43 percent from the floor when playing on no rest, and since the beginning of 2016, Rose is shooting even worse on no rest at 38.6 percent. If he is not ready to assume a full workload of 30 or more minutes coming off of injury, it may be wise to steer clear of Rose until his minutes get back up to normal levels. He would need over 30 FanDuel points tonight to get anywhere close to hitting value, and if he plays fewer than 30 minutes, it’s going to be hard for him to hit that mark.
Jonas Valanciunas, C, Toronto Raptors
FanDuel Price: $6,200
Jonas Valanciunas has made his way back into the landmine category tonight after being listed as one just a few nights ago. However, until his minutes go back up, or his price drops considerably, it is probably a good idea to lay off the Raptors’ center. Tonight, Valanciunas has one of the tougher matchups a center could ask for in Rudy Gobert and the Jazz. Utah ranks as the third best center defense in the league, giving up fewer than 0.9 FanDuel points per game to the position.
Even though earlier in the year Valanciunas played 33 minutes against the Jazz and almost scored a double-double, for his price of $6,200 tonight, even a repeat performance would have him falling just short of hitting the 30-or-so FanDuel points you need from him.
As we mentioned a few nights ago with the Raptors’ center, he has failed to reach the 30-minute mark in 16 of his last 18 games, and even though he could see a few more minutes tonight with the Raptors trying to slow down the big men from Utah, foul trouble is another variable that you have to account with Valanciunas tonight. Despite playing limited minutes over his last three games, Valanciunas is averaging well over six fouls per 36 minutes in those three games, and all three of them were tough matchups for centers including Andre Drummond, Timofey Mozgov and Karl-Anthony Towns. Don’t expect a huge game from Valanciunas tonight.
