4 NBA Defenses to Exploit in Daily Fantasy Basketball

Golden State Warriors

At 5-2, the highly-regarded Golden State Warriors are without a doubt the best team among this group. However, as we've seen, the numbers do not discriminate between good and bad teams.

Just like they have in years prior, the Warriors play at a blazing pace. They are second in the league with an average of 101.7 possessions per 48 minutes of play. However, they've fallen from their fifth-ranked defense (in terms of efficiency) from a year ago. Their adjusted defensive rating of 109.41 places them 21st among all teams, and in cooperation with their pace, produces 111.27 true points against per game. That's 1.87 above their 109.4 actual points surrendered per contest.

As we know, a lot has changed in Golden State. Luke Walton's no longer on the bench, Andrew Bogut and Harrison Barnes are playing for the Dallas Mavericks, and Kevin Durant has assumed Barnes place in the starting lineup. This hasn't affected their offensive play much, but it has created opportunities for opposing offenses -- and the same can be said for you as a DFS player.

Sure, the Warriors rank 29th in defensive rebound percentage, but that shouldn't be the focus of attention here. While Zaza Pachulia has been decent at 108 points allowed per 100 possessions, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant have been solid, with ratings of 100 and 104, respectively. The issues, therefore the opportunity, is in the backcourt against Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going out of the way to target players against Thompson, a historically good on-ball defender. But, a player at a reasonable price in what should almost always be a high-paced matchup with the Warriors makes for a good GPP play at the least. Thompson's defensive rating of 112 is the worst among all starters.

Then there's Steph, who isn't known for his defensive prowess. He's right behind Klay at 111 points allowed per 100, and he's allowed four of seven point guards to score 20 or more points through seven games. It may sound risky, but targeting Steph and company isn't the worst idea.