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.
Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
FanDuel Price: $7,200
Since the Detroit Pistons have been eliminated from the playoffs, Andre Drummond has seen his minutes decline. He has not touched 30 minutes in any game so far this month, and that trend might continue in a meaningless game against the Washington Wizards.
With the Wizards also locked into the 4 seed in the East, they may take this game easy, too. However, that might just mean they will still split the center minutes with Ian Mahinmi and Marcin Gortat, which could be tough for Drummond to overcome.
Mahinmi is an excellent defender, holding players he defends to just 47.7% shooting within 10 feet this season. Combine that with Drummond's drop in minutes, and it makes him tough to target tonight, even at home.
Terrence Ross, SF, Orlando Magic
FanDuel Price: $4,600
Terrence Ross is coming off a huge game against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, and he may be a popular tournament option tonight against the Chicago Bulls. However, with Dwyane Wade healthy, Jimmy Butler slides back to small forward and he will get glued to Ross tonight in a must-win game for Chicago.
The Bulls are holding opposing small forwards to 0.73 FanDuel points per minute this season, and Butler is limiting players he defends to 43.1% shooting overall and 30.8% shooting from distance.
Combine all that with this game being in Chicago, where Butler's defense improves even more, and Ross is going to have a hard time duplicating his stat line from Saturday here on Monday.
Noah Vonleh, PF, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $3,900
With the injury to Jusuf Nurkic, Noah Vonleh has been the Portland Trail Blazers' starting center. While that should still continue tonight even with the Portland Trail Blazers locked into the 8 seed, the matchup against the San Antonio Spurs is a tough one.
As a team, the Spurs are holding opposing power forwards to 0.81 FanDuel points per minute, and going up against Dewayne Dedmon should really limit any upside Vonleh might have with his larger role.
Dedmon is holding players he defends to just 40.5% shooting and 43.1% shooting within 10 feet of the basket this season, so expect a modest game from Vonleh, making him a player to avoid altogether.