3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 1/6/17
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 has been on fire lately, but he'll have a tough battle against the Memphis Grizzlies. The shooting guard has struggled when facing teams ranking in the bottom-10 in pace, but top-10 in defensive rating -- like he will be on Friday.
He's only averaging 18.1 FanDuel points in five games this season when playing squads like the Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz.
With the pace slowed down, Thompson seems to be the one to lose the most fantasy value. Combine that with a tough individual matchup against Tony Allen and he should be nothing more than a tournament play.
Elfrid Payton, PG, Orlando Magic
FanDuel Price: $6,300
I have an extreme love/hate relationship with Elfrid Payton in DFS because there have been nights he has far exceeded value and others where he completely disappears. He is still a young player prone to inconsistency, and he might be in for one of his patented disappearing acts after two straight huge performances.
The biggest problem he faces is Patrick Beverley. Payton started the Orlando Magic's last game, and if that happens again, he has to go toe-to-toe with one of the league's best on-ball defenders.
Beverley is holding players he defends to 43.4% shooting from the field, including 31.7% shooting from deep. Combine that with the Houston Rockets holding opposing point guards to 0.86 FanDuel points per minute and Payton should definitely be avoided.
Markieff Morris, PF, Washington Wizards
FanDuel Price: $4,900
Markieff Morris has been losing out on some minutes lately, but Friday brings an even tougher battle against Gorgui Dieng.
Dieng has helped the Minnesota Timberwolves become one of the better defensive teams against power forwards this season, as they're holding them to 0.82 FanDuel points per minute.
He also ranks third behind only Draymond Green and Paul Millsap in defensive real plus-minus. With Morris struggling to see consistent minutes, it's tough to roster him in general, let alone when considering who he'll be facing once he actually gets on the floor.
