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.
Brook Lopez, C, Brooklyn Nets
FanDuel Price: $7,000
After some huge games in December, Brook Lopez has hit the skids in January, but he is coming off a game of 33.4 FanDuel points. The problem is he'll be facing off against Dwight Howard on Tuesday, who has been stellar on defense this season.
Howard and the Atlanta Hawks are holding opposing centers to 0.86 FanDuel points per minute and it's been mostly Howard doing the heavy lifting. He's holding opposing centers to just 44.2% shooting and 50.4% shooting within six feet of the basket. Since he'll be going up against that brick wall, it's a night to avoid Lopez.
Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs
FanDuel Price: $4,700
Tony Parker blew up in everyone's faces against the Charlotte Hornets last week, but before his poor outing against Charlotte, he had been on fire.
However, the veteran point guard seems to be out of cash game consideration tonight after that effort, and it might be wise to avoid him completely against the hottest rookie not named Joel Embiid in Malcolm Brogdon.
Brogdon has been getting it done on both ends and a young, bigger and strong defender is not the kind of opponent Parker beats up on. Brogdon is holding players he defends to just 43.4% shooting and 31.6% shooting from deep. Parker may be in for another disappointing game, but it shouldn't be surprising.
Evan Turner, SF, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $4600
With the return of Damian Lillard, we knew Evan Turner was going to take a hit. However, of all the major signings last offseason, Turner might have been one of the worst.
He is averaging only 9.5 points in 25.6 minutes per game. Even against a team like the Los Angeles Lakers, it's hard to trust him.
While the Lakers usually provide tons of fantasy value for their opponents, there is a chance Turner will be defended by either Luol Deng or Brandon Ingram on Tuesday. Neither of these matchups will be easy, and when you combine that with a decrease in usage because of Lillard's return, he's a landmine waiting to happen.