NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/24/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Mar 24th, 2017
Nikola Vucevic may be in for some regression on Friday against Andre Drummond and the Pistons. Which other NBA players should you avoid putting in your DFS lineups?

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.

Nikola Vucevic, C, Orlando Magic

FanDuel Price: $8,200

Nikola Vucevic has been on fire over his last three games for the Orlando Magic, dropping 45-plus FanDuel points in three straight contests. He'll undoubtedly draw a bunch of attention from DFS players after a run like that, but he'll be facing Andre Drummond on Friday, which wasn't gone well for him in the past.

Our DvP Matchup Chart has Drummond as the 10th-toughest matchup among all centers tonight, as the Detroit Pistons are allowing less than a fantasy point per minute to the position. Drummond ranks 15th among starting centers in ESPN's Real Defensive Plus Minus, and our models project Vucevic for 36 FanDuel points.

Anything less than 40 will be considered a down night for Vucevic. So, having to face Drummond may be enough to fade the Orlando big man. In their last three head-to-head matchups, Vucevic is averaging just 33.7 FanDuel points per game. Plus, it's also worth noting that his last three games overall have come against teams ranking 21st or worse in DvP versus centers this year.

Marvin Williams, PF, Charlotte Hornets

FanDuel Price: $6,500

Marvin Williams' price has risen considerably over the last few weeks, but may be worth avoiding given the combination of his tough matchup and other power forward options available on Friday's slate.

Our models currently project Williams for just 25.2 FanDuel points, which could have a lot to do with the Cleveland Cavaliers only allowing just 0.81 FanDuel points per minute to power forwards this season. He hasn't played well against Kevin Love in his career, either.

Williams has scored less than 30 FanDuel points in 9 of his last 10 games against Love as a member of the Charlotte Hornets.

Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons

FanDuel Price: $4,600

Reggie Jackson lost his starting job to Ish Smith two nights ago. After performing well in 25 minutes on Wednesday, it looks like the Detroit Pistons will go back to Smith in the starting lineup on Friday.

This is still a timeshare of sorts, but now leans towards Smith and is horrible for Jackson, who looks like he may be be entirely out of fantasy consideration tonight -- our models project him for just 22.3 minutes.