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.
Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors
FanDuel Price: $6,800
There are multiple things working against Klay Thompson tonight. He had another great game coming off his 60-point performance against the Indiana Pacers, but he and the Golden State Warriors are playing their third game in four nights on Thursday. What makes that even worse? It's on the road against the Utah Jazz.
Golden State may be the exception to the Jazz being a pace-killing team, but Thompson's problems aren't solely tied to the Jazz's slow pace. He's also going to face a stiff wing defense.
The Jazz are limiting shooting guards to 0.8 FanDuel points per minute. Also, even with Rodney Hood sitting out, Joe Johnson is holding players he defends to just 42.4% shooting from the floor. With Thompson's increased price tag, there might not be enough fantasy points to go around for the Warriors guard in this particular situation.
Taj Gibson, PF, Chicago Bulls
FanDuel Price: $5,700
Taj Gibson looked like he was starting to hit the 30-year-old decline last season, but apparently 31 is the new 26. He is having an excellent season on both ends of the floor, averaging 12.0 points and a career-high 8.0 rebounds per game. However, a tough matchup with the San Antonio Spurs is looming, making him a player to avoid.
Gibson's career splits against the Spurs aren't great, which doesn't help his case. In 11 career games against San Antonio, Gibson is averaging 5.9 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting less than 40%.
San Antonio is allowing only 0.8 FanDuel points per minute to opposing power forwards, so with Gibson's minutes trending downward lately, it's a tough night to roster the Bulls' power forward.
Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, Denver Nuggets
FanDuel Price: $5,200
Emmanuel Mudiay might be past landmine status after his last few games, but after getting benched along with three other Denver Nuggets starters on Wednesday, Mudiay is hitting rock bottom. He's currently losing minutes to 34-year-old Jameer Nelson and I'm wondering whether the Nuggets are wishing they selected Devin Booker or Justise Winslow in the 2015 NBA Draft instead.
All is not lost, though, as Mudiay has obviously shown some flashes in his career, but he's not the type of player to consider for DFS purposes right now, especially since he's seen no more than 22 minutes in his last three games played.
The Washington Wizards have also not been bad against point guards, allowing only 0.86 FanDuel points per minute to the position. With Mudiay looking like he's in the doghouse, keep him on the bench.