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.
C.J. McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $8,100
C.J. McCollum is heading straight for a matchup with Tony Allen tonight, and that likely means bad news for the Portland Trail Blazers' shooting guard. McCollum has scored more than 35 FanDuel points only twice in 14 career head-to-head matchups.
Plus, Allen and the Memphis Grizzlies are holding opposing shooting guards to just 0.77 FanDuel points per minute this season. With a price tag above $8,000, it's not a great spot for McCollum, even though he's at home. Our algorithms have him projected for just 33.9 FanDuel points on Friday.
David Lee, PF, San Antonio Spurs
FanDuel Price: $5,700
Now that David Lee's price has risen to nearly $6,000 on FanDuel, it's time to start fading him. Not only is the matchup tough (possibly having to defend Anthony Davis at times), but his price is high and his minutes are trending downward.
After playing 33 and 36 minutes in back-to-back games, respectively, Lee has been on the court for just 25 and 21 minutes over his last two, ceding playing time to Dewayne Dedmon.
The San Antonio Spurs are going to need Dedmon's defense on Davis, so Lee might only see 20-25 minutes. Even though he is averaging a respectable 0.91 FanDuel points per minute this season, it's likely not going to be enough to crack value with a price tag of $5,700 given the situation.
Joakim Noah, C, New York Knicks
FanDuel Price: $4,700
Joakim Noah is another player who has seen his minutes trending down over the last few games, and his price has not corrected enough for him to be in play on Friday.
Our algorithms project him for just 17.0 FanDuel points over 18.7 minutes, and players not getting at least 20 minutes of burn simply aren't worth it for DFS purposes.
Plus, Noah may have to deal with a strong defender if Cody Zeller is able to play tonight -- he ranks 12th among centers in ESPN's real defensive plus-minus (2.39), which also ranks 21st overall.