NBA

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

Dale Redman  —  @DTRedman Apr 2nd, 2019
Paul Millsap has been held in check by the Warriors all season, dampening his outlook for tonight. Who else should you stay 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?

Paul Millsap, PF, Denver Nuggets

FanDuel Price: $7,200

Paul Millsap has been hit or miss in DFS over the last week. The Denver Nuggets' power forward has posted three games with 21 or fewer FanDuel points in the five contests while averaging 9.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 18.0 FanDuel points in those three duds. The slump has been a result of Millsap's reduced role in the Nuggets’ offense. He took eight or fewer shots in five of his last eight games, and his single-game high over the last two weeks is 13 shots.

While the downturn in production should be enough to scare us away from Millsap on tonight’s four-game slate, the matchup with the Golden State Warriors seals the deal.

The Dubs have held down power forwards all year, allowing the fifth-fewest FanDuel points per minute to the position. Millsap has been a prime example of the defensive prowess of Draymond Green as the Nuggets’ forward was a bust in three previous meetings with the Warriors this season. Millsap has averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 19.2 FanDuel points against Golden State while shooting 39.1% from the field.

Rudy Gay, SF, San Antonio Spurs

FanDuel Price: $6,500

When the San Antonio Spurs take on the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, Rudy Gay is likely to be in the starting lineup. The veteran forward has swapped in and out of the starting five lately, coming off the bench in 11 of 16 games played since the All-Star break.

But even when Gay gets a starting nod, he doesn't always see significant action. In those five starts, he has played 26 or fewer minutes in three of the five. He has averaged just 11.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, and 26.5 FanDuel points in 27.5 minutes per game in the five starts.

The modest production may seem to make Gay a safe play on a small slate, especially against the soft defense of Atlanta, but with the expected blowout nature of Tuesday’s game, Gay is hard to trust tonight.

The Spurs are 11.0-point home favorites over the Hawks, likely leaving Gay on the bench for a few more minutes tonight. In the 12 games the Spurs have won by 14 or more points this season, Gay played more than 25 minutes in just three of them. He averaged only 22.7 minutes in all 12 of those lopsided wins.

Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Sacramento Kings

FanDuel Price: $6,000

The Sacramento Kings' frontcourt has been banged up recently with Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley III both missing time. The expectation was that Willie Cauley-Stein would feast in their absence, but that was not been the case.

Over his last two games, WCS has not seen a boost in minutes as was projected, playing just 27 minutes a game. His fantasy production did not see an increase, either, as the big man posted an average of just 21.6 FanDuel points against the Spurs and Rockets. In the game versus Houston, Cauley-Stein posted his fifth-worst fantasy performance of the season, collecting just 14.9 FanDuel points in a touch more than 24 minutes.

Unfortunately, the Kings are facing the Rockets again tonight, a matchup that has not gone well for WCS this year.

The Kings’ center has amassed a total of only 46.9 FanDuel points in three games versus Houston this season as he has averaged just 4.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per contest. Making matters worse for Cauley-Stein, Bagley is expected back tonight, all but eliminating the chance at 30-plus minutes for WCS.


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.