NBA

3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 11/12/18

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Nov 12th, 2018
Rudy Gobert has had some of his worst games against Memphis. Who else are we staying away from in DFS on Monday?

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 takes only one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference between winning and losing your contests. Which players should we avoid tonight?

Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz

FanDuel Price: $8,700

Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert is averaging over 42 FanDuel points per game this season, but when he faces the Memphis Grizzlies and Marc Gasol, the star center disappoints for DFS purposes.

The Jazz and Grizzlies have already played each other twice this season, with Gobert registering two of his three lowest scoring fantasy games of the season. He has averaged 10.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks for just 32.8 FanDuel points in the two contests. It hasn’t been just Gobert that Gasol and company have held in check. Opposing centers are averaging just 0.98 FanDuel points per minute against the Grizzlies, the second-lowest mark in the NBA this season.

Also hurting Gobert’s chances for a big game on Monday will be the pace of play. The Grizzlies average the fewest possessions per 48 minutes this season, leaving the contest to be a grind-it-out affair -- the 203.0 over/unde is the lowest of the day. With plenty of more enticing center options on the nine-game slate, leave Gobert out of your lineup today.

Nikola Mirotic, SF, New Orleans Pelicans

FanDuel Price: $7,700

Entering Monday’s game against the Toronto Raptors, Nikola Mirotic is nursing an ankle sprain. While he is expected to play, he may be less than 100% in one of the more difficult matchups he will face all year.

The Raptors own a top-eight defensive rating (106.0) with opponents shooting just 43.5% from the field, the fifth-lowest rate in the NBA this season. Power forward Pascal Siakam is having a breakout season, and not only offensively. His defense has held those he has guarded to a 38.4% accuracy on their field goal attempts, and Siakam's perimeter defense will be especially dampening to Mirotic and his outside shooting. The big man holds opponents to make just 28.4% of their three-pointers, which is Mirotic’s bread and butter, as threes account for 42.5% of his field goal attempts.

Overall, power forwards, where Mirotic has played over 88% of his minutes this season, average 0.87 FanDuel points per minute, the sixth-lowest rate in the NBA, against Toronto. Add in the blowout potential -- Toronto is a 9.0-point home favorite -- and it is best to stay away from the New Orleans Pelicans' sharpshooter on Monday.

Justise Winslow, SF, Miami Heat

FanDuel Price: $5,500

In his first two games after being moved into the starting lineup, Justise Winslow went off, posting an average stat line of 12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 35.6 minutes. That came out to 38.9 FanDuel points per night. In the last three games, though, the Miami Heat forward has been a bust.

Winslow has posted three straight games with 22.5 or fewer FanDuel points. While he has kept his scoring up, 11.7 points per game, the rest of his stats have dropped considerably. He collected just nine rebounds, one steal, and no blocks in his last three contests. Not coincidentally ,his downturn has coincided with difficult matchups against the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers. Monday, he gets to face the equally tough Philadelphia 76ers.

Philly sits in the top-10 in defensive rating while holding opponents to just 43.0% shooting from the field, the third-lowest rate this season. Even with a short-handed squad on Saturday, the Sixers held Grizzlies’ power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. to just 12.7 FanDuel points in 30.5 minutes.


Dale Redman is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.