NBA

3 Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 2/4/19

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Feb 4th, 2019
Paul Millsap and the Nuggets will have a hard time scoring points against the Pistons on Monday. Who else are we staying away from in NBA 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 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?

Jarrett Allen, C, Brooklyn Nets

FanDuel Price: $5,700

Jarrett Allen has taken a big step forward this season as his defense and rebounding has helped the Brooklyn Nets surge up the standings. In fantasy though, the center has not been doing enough on the offensive end to be a trustworthy play in DFS.

Just once in his last eight games has Allen scored in double-digits. He is averaging 6.9 points on 5.1 shots per game since January 18. That has left the big man to post six sub-25.0 FanDuel point performances as he is averaging just 22.7 FanDuel points over his last seven games. Facing the NBA's best team, record-wise, in the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, we can expect Allen's offensive production to be held down once again.

The Bucks have allowed the fourth-fewest second-chance points as well as the fewest fast-break points and points in the paint per game this season. That has hurt opposing centers production, leaving them to score the second-fewest FanDuel points per minute (1.04) against the Bucks this season.

Paul Millsap, PF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,400

Paul Millsap’s offensive game has been all out of sorts lately. The Denver Nuggets' forward has scored four or fewer points in four of his last seven games, including an 0-for-2 shooting shutout on Saturday. Millsap is averaging just 7.6 points on 5.9 shots per game over the last two weeks. His minutes have dwindled too, down to only 24.2 per game in the previous seven games. As you would expect, his fantasy production has dipped, with the veteran posting 15.5 or fewer FanDuel points four times since January 23. His offense is not likely to surge on Monday either as the Nuggets face the Detroit Pistons in the game with the lowest over/under of the day (209.0).

The Pistons have struggled to snag wins in their last 10 games -- with a 4-6 record -- but it is not due to their defense, which has surrendered 102.7 points per game, the fewest in the NBA. Their bottom-three pace and top-four defensive rating during the stretch will help keep the points to a minimum for Denver and Millsap on Monday.

Will Barton, SF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $5,400

We already talked about the Pistons-Nuggets game being the least fantasy-friendly matchup of the six-game slate on Monday. With points at a premium, Will Barton joins Millsap as a player who should be left out of your lineups.

Unlike Millsap, Barton has managed to post solid scoring lines in his last five games, but his lack of contribution elsewhere has made the swingman way too points-dependent for our liking. Despite scoring at least 16 points in three of his last five games, Barton has posted just one game with more than 24.1 FanDuel points. In those previous five games, he is averaging 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 28.6 minutes for 19.0 FanDuel points per game.

Those empty stat lines will likely continue against Detroit too as opposing small forwards have consistently been held in check with the Pistons giving up the fewest FanDuel points per minute to the position (0.78).


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.