3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 4/12/17
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.
Isaiah Thomas, PG, Boston Celtics
FanDuel Price: $8,700
This time of year is rough for NBA DFS, but with the Boston Celtics needing one last win to lock up home-court advantage in the East, Isaiah Thomas looks like he might be a strong play.
However, Boston's opponent, the Milwaukee Bucks, does not have anything to play for, and they are resting four starters on Wednesday. This has led to the Celtics becoming 13.5-point favorites, and if Boston is up big in the second half, don't be surprised if Brad Stevens limits Thomas' minutes in order to avoid unnecessary injury.
Thomas only played 30 minutes in the Celtics' last game, and he may play fewer than that tonight. The Bucks will still have Malcolm Brogdon trying to defend Thomas, and Brogdon is holding players he defends to a respectable 45.8% shooting as well.
If Thomas takes a hard foul or the Celtics are running away with this one, we could see him pulled early and playing fewer than 30 minutes. That, plus potential high ownership, makes Thomas a big landmine if Boston does take the cautionary approach to this game.
Mike Conley, PG, Memphis Grizzlies
FanDuel Price: $7,800
The Memphis Grizzlies don't have anything to play for tonight, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them sit down some of their starters. There is no news either way on this as of this morning, but Mike Conley only played 23 minutes on Sunday, and he could be in line for another limited workload tonight.
There is also the matchup issue for Conley. Even if he plays a full allotment of minutes, the Dallas Mavericks are holding point guards to just 0.8 FanDuel points per minute this season.
With how banged up Memphis has been and with Conley having missed 13 games already, don't be surprised if the Grizzlies play it safe with their franchise point guard this close to the playoffs.
Danny Green, SG, San Antonio Spurs
FanDuel Price: $3,800
The San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich claim they aren't resting anyone else for the final game of the season. Popovich said that four days ago, so things could change, but with the Utah Jazz still technically in reach of the 4 seed with a win and a Los Angeles Clippers loss, they will be playing hard tonight.
With Rodney Hood listed as probable for tonight, that makes Danny Green a tough player to target. The Spurs will probably limit their starters minutes even if they all play, and Hood's defense, combined with the potential for fewer minutes is going to be tough to overcome for a guy like Green.
The Jazz are holding opposing shooting guards to just 0.68 FanDuel points per minute this season, and considering Green has played 30 minutes or more only once in his last five games, he probably won't play too many in a meaningless game tonight.
