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 takes only one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference between winning and losing your contests. Which players should we avoid tonight?
Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Sacramento Kings
FanDuel Price: $7,500
Willie Cauley-Stein is enjoying a breakout over the last month, but he is on the road tonight against the Miami Heat with an individual matchup against Hassan Whiteside that isn't one to get excited about on Thursday's short DFS slate.
Cauley-Stein sees his production dip when he goes on the road -- his field goal percentage drops nearly 10 percentage points and he averages five fewer points per game. With the Heat holding centers to less than a fantasy point per minute and Whiteside limiting players he defends to a 46.5% shooting percentage, WCS is better to avoid.
Otto Porter, SF, Washington Wizards
FanDuel Price: $6,500
Otto Porter is officially questionable for Thursday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after practicing in full on Wednesday. However, even if the Wizards' swingman plays, his assignment against Paul George is not great.
George and the Thunder have held opposing small forwards to 0.76 FanDuel points per minute, so with the later tip off, it might be best to just avoid Porter because of the injury and poor matchup.
Trey Lyles, PF, Denver Nuggets
FanDuel Price: $6,000
Trey Lyles is another former Kentucky Wildcat big man enjoying a breakout year in the NBA, but he too faces a less-than-appealing matchup Thursday against the New York Knicks.
The Knicks are holding opposing power forwards to a modest 0.90 FanDuel points per minute. The defense from Kristaps Porzingis might make it even tougher on Lyles, too -- Porzingis is holding players he defends to an impressive 42.4% shooting from the floor. If he ends up playing, you're better off fading him.
Jordan Sharp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jordan Sharp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username TEHSHARP. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.