NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/9/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Dec 9th, 2016
Karl-Anthony Towns can overcome tough matchups, but playing three games in four nights makes him a player to avoid.

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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Karl-Anthony Towns, C, Minnesota Timberwolves

FanDuel Price: $9,200

I'll be perfectly honest, I've been pretty poor predicting superstars as landmines. Not only did I recommend fading Anthony Davis on his 100-point night, but I also advocated fading John Wall recently when he went for 70-plus FanDuel points. Superstars are "super" because of their ability to go off even in bad matchups, but tonight with Karl-Anthony Towns is a little different.

Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves are playing their third game in four nights and coming off a tough game last night north of the border. Now they welcome in a Detroit Pistons team with the league's best defensive rating of 102.2 points allowed per 100 possessions.

Of all the Wolves, Towns has the toughest matchup, and his price of $9,200 is a bit too high on FanDuel. Andre Drummond hasn't been spectacular on defense individually this season, but the Pistons as a team are holding opposing centers to only 0.89 FanDuel points per minute. Combined with Towns probably being tired and overpriced, it's a bad night to roster him.

John Henson, C, Milwaukee Bucks

FanDuel Price: $4,700

John Henson's new role with the Milwaukee Bucks has been pretty well defined lately. He gets about 25 minutes with an increase if he is hitting his shots. At $4,700 and with a ton of upside, Henson could be considered a strong play tonight. However, with his floor still pretty low and his matchup against Dwight Howard, it makes him a landmine in cash games.

Howard has been undergoing a nice defensive rebirth this season with the Atlanta Hawks. He is holding players he defends to just 43.1% shooting from the floor, and more importantly, he is limiting those players to only 48.8% shooting from within six feet.

So, Henson is tricky tonight. For cash games, I'd stay away simply due to his floor and tough matchup. However, Henson has posted some really big games against Howard in his career. His last two he has averaged 17.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks in 35 minutes per game against Howard. Fade him in cash, but feel free to lock and load in tournaments.

Iman Shumpert, SG, Cleveland Cavaliers

FanDuel Price: $3,600

Iman Shumpert played well in 23 minutes against the New York Knicks on Wednesday, but with J.R. Smith listed as questionable, it looks like he may have a chance to return tonight.

If Smith does come back, Shumpert loses a lot of his value. Plus, his 14 points were close to a season-high last time out. His matchup against the Miami Heat will not help him with matching that points total.

The Heat are allowing only 0.75 FanDuel points per minute to shooting guards this season, so even if Smith is out, Shumpert's matchup is going to make it tough for him to replicate his most recent performance.