NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/3/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Feb 3rd, 2017
Harrison Barnes has played well and faces a weak defense, but you still might want to avoid him on Friday.

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.

Harrison Barnes, SF, Dallas Mavericks

FanDuel Price: $6,600

Harrison Barnes is coming off a nice five-game stretch where he has averaged just over 33 FanDuel points per game, and tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers, he might be a popular tournament play. However, he'll also likely have to deal with Al-Farouq Aminu and his tough defense.

While Aminu hasn't been starting, Noah Vonleh is going to have a hard time defending Barnes if the Dallas Mavericks go small and start Barnes at power forward.

This should mean Aminu gets in the game early, and his assignment should be Barnes. Aminu ranks 14th in ESPN's defensive real plus-minus, and so far this season, he is holding players he defends to just 40.0% shooting from the floor and 31.0% from three-point land.

Steven Adams, C, Oklahoma City Thunder

FanDuel Price: $5,900

Steven Adams and Marc Gasol are set to do battle tonight. Both could struggle against the other's defense, but Adams is by far the riskier play.

He is coming off just 14.2 FanDuel points against the Chicago Bulls, and tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies is going to be even tougher. Memphis is allowing only 0.81 FanDuel points per minute to centers.

Gasol is holding players he defends to just 51.3% shooting within six feet of the basket, too, which is 10.2% better than those players' averages from that distance. Fade Adams tonight in this tough matchup, because he has yet to have a big game against Gasol in his career.

Trevor Ariza, SF, Houston Rockets

FanDuel Price: $5,300

Trevor Ariza is only averaging 0.72 FanDuel points per minute this season. He has posted big games before, but tonight likely won't be one of those nights against Jimmy Butler and the Bulls.

Butler is holding players he defends to just 44.1% shooting overall and 30.8% shooting from beyond the arc this season.

The Bulls also rank ninth in defense versus position among small forwards, allowing them to score just 0.72 FanDuel points per minute. Considering that's how much Ariza is averaging this season, he will need 35-plus minutes tonight to get close to value. It's a bit too risky against Butler.