NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/29/19

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Mar 29th, 2019
Bobby Portis has been in and out of the Wizards' lineup this week, and faces a stiff challenge against the Jazz. Who else are we staying away from 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 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?

Al Horford, C, Boston Celtics

FanDuel Price: $7,200

Because of injuries and load management reasons, Al Horford has played just two games in the last 10 days. The Boston Celtics have been trying to reduce his workload a bit to keep the veteran center healthy for the playoffs. In the only game he played in the last nine days, on Tuesday, Horford saw just 26.5 minutes. While he finished with over 37 FanDuel points in a soft matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Horford likely won’t be able to post that same kind of efficiency on Friday versus the Indiana Pacers.

The Pacers and Myles Turner have limited opposing centers to 1.08 FanDuel points per minute, the fourth-lowest rate in the league this year. Turner is the main reason for the success against big men, as he has limited those he's defended to 48.3% shooting on two-pointers -- 5.2 percentage points lower than expected.

In Horford’s two meetings with the Pacers this season, he has felt the struggle of facing Indy with averages just 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 26.2 FanDuel points.

Bobby Portis, PF, Washington Wizards

FanDuel Price: $6,300

This past week, Bobby Portis has been shuffled in and out of the Washington Wizards' starting lineup, limiting his minutes and usefulness for DFS purposes.

After starting 15 straight games, Portis moved to the bench on Tuesday playing just 25 minutes against the Lakers. He finished with only 26.4 FanDuel points. With Trevor Ariza re-aggravating his groin injury, Portis moved back into the starting five on Wednesday but saw even fewer minutes, playing just 22.6 minutes against the Phoenix Suns. He ended the night with only 6 points, 9 rebounds, and 21.8 FanDuel points, his lowest output since finishing with 15 FanDuel points on March 18. On that day he aced the Utah Jazz, the same opponent he squares off with on Friday.

In that game 11 days ago, Portis did not do much as he saw just 19 minutes as the Jazz frontcourt dominated the action in a 21-point victory. Friday is poised to be a repeat as Utah is 12.5-point favorites against the Wizards, possibly limiting Portis’ minutes again. Even if he can get extended run, the Jazz have been stout against power forwards this season, allowing the fourth-fewest FanDuel points per minute to the position.

Darren Collison, PG, Indiana Pacers

FanDuel Price: $6,300

After sitting out over a week with a thigh injury, Darren Collison returned to action on Wednesday to disappointing results.

Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Pacers point guard went 3-for-10 from the field for 8 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, and 20.6 FanDuel points. It was his second consecutive game with single-digit points and sub-25 Fanduel points. The performances came against middle-of-the-road defenses in the Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers. Friday, he faces a top unit -- the Celtics -- that has shut down the point guard this season.

In the two meetings between the Pacers and Celtics this season, Collison finished with an average line of 8.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists for 18.7 FanDuel points. His disappointing performances versus Boston are not an outlier as the Celtics rank second in the NBA by allowing just 0.86 FanDuel points per minute to point guards. Add in the Pacers holding by far the lowest implied point total of the day (103.5), and Collison should be avoided at all costs on Friday.


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.