NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 12/28/16

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Dec 28th, 2016
Don't let Joakim Noah's recent attempts at fantasy consistency fool you on Wednesday. Which other NBA players should you avoid in DFS?

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.

Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors

FanDuel Price: $6,300

Klay Thompson is coming off a game where he played 41 minutes and posted nearly 30 FanDuel points. It was the fifth time in eight games where he scored at least 27 FanDuel points, but don't get lulled into a sense of security with this Splash Brother. Even though his price is appealing, he has yet to gain trust for cash games.

Wednesday is a perfect example of why -- he has to face off against DeMar DeRozan, who has gotten a lot of praise for his offense, but his defense has been almost as impressive. He is holding players he defends to just 41.7% shooting and 27.6% shooting from beyond the arc.

This has helped the Toronto Raptors rank first in points allowed to shooting guards at just 0.68 FanDuel points per minute. It's rare that Thompson has to square off against a two-guard that is a complete player on both ends and it may hurt his fantasy value, even in what should be a high-scoring game.

T.J. Warren, SF, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $4,700

T.J. Warren has played pretty well in the three games since returning from injury, but he is running into a defensive buzzsaw in Kawhi Leonard. Even though Warren is still coming off the bench, Leonard will likely be spending his time slowing down the talented third-year swingman when he gets on the court.

The San Antonio Spurs are holding opposing small forwards to just 0.71 FanDuel points per minute this season and the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year has a lot to do with that.

What's been just as impressive is the Spurs' team defense. They are holding teams to just 189 FanDuel points per game, which is the second-stingiest fantasy defense in the league behind the Utah Jazz. There just aren't too many Phoenix Suns players that are viable in this matchup.

Joakim Noah, C, New York Knicks

FanDuel Price: $4,300

Don't let Joakim Noah's recent attempts at fantasy consistency fool you. He is far from a safe option in NBA DFS, despite his recent three-game run of averaging just over 24 FanDuel points per game.

Those three games were against teams that rank in the bottom half of the league in fantasy defense against centers, but now he and the New York Knicks have to deal with the Atlanta Hawks and Dwight Howard.

Howard and Noah are no strangers. This will be their 20th meeting, but they haven't faced off against each other in nearly two years because of injury. Noah is far from the player he was two, or even three years ago, while Howard is starting to look like he is 26 again.

The Hawks are holding centers to just 0.87 FanDuel points per minute and even with Noah playing around 30 minutes recently, he is not worth rostering against Howard.