NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/19/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Dec 19th, 2016
Before lineups lock for Monday's DFS NBA contests, find out which players you should be avoiding.

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.

Dwight Howard, C, Atlanta Hawks

FanDuel Price: $7,900

The Dwight Howard renaissance may be put on hold for the evening. He has posted some insane numbers over his last few games, but a rematch against Steven Adams is looming.

The last time these two hooked up, Howard got into early foul trouble and was a huge landmine, posting less than 20 FanDuel points for only the third time this season. Even though Adams' defense has been regressing some as the year drags on, he is still holding players he defends to 47.4% shooting from the floor and 58.6% shooting from within six feet of the basket.

This has led to the Oklahoma City Thunder allowing only 0.9 FanDuel points per minute to opposing centers. Our models project Howard for only 31.5 FanDuel points tonight, well below what you need at his price tag of nearly $8,000.

Will Barton, SG, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,300

Will Barton has been a great fantasy option when healthy, but with the return of Gary Harris into the starting lineup, it has directly impacted Barton's minutes and usage.

According to NBA Wowy, with Harris off the court, Barton owned a 22.2% usage rate, but dropped to 17.0% with Harris on the court. With Harris' minutes trending up, it makes Barton's minutes tough to predict.

Plus, he doesn't have the greatest matchup on Monday, like most of the Denver Nuggets. The Dallas Mavericks are playing at a pace of just 91.2 possessions per game, which has helped them hold shooting guards to 0.76 FanDuel points per minute. With Wesley Matthews looking good on defense, lay off Barton.

Tobias Harris, PF, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $5,600

Tobias Harris had a stretch of nice games a few weeks ago where he was a great cash and tournament option. However, since Reggie Jackson has returned to his full minutes, Harris seems to be the guy losing most of his usage.

Over the last five games with Jackson's playing time increasing to what we'd expect it to be with the Detroit Pistons, Harris is averaging 20.2 FanDuel points per game.

Plus, there is the Jon Leuer factor lurking. Stan Van Gundy is considering a lineup change and Harris seems the most likely to be moved out of the starting lineup. Van Gundy said it won't happen tonight, but if Leuer does play, it could impact his run with the starters. Leuer went through shootaround this morning.

With all the risk surrounding Harris, it's best to avoid him in this matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Taj Gibson has been great on defense, and considering the Pistons are only +1.1 points per 100 possessions with Harris on the court, his time in the starting rotation may be running out.