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?
Taurean Prince, SF, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Price: $6,100
Taurean Prince is coming off a career night in both real life and fantasy, scoring 38 points against the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. However, things get a little tougher for Prince on Tuesday as he plays at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Thunder are holding small forwards to just 0.79 FanDuel points per minute this season, and going against Paul George isn't going to be easy despite the Thunder playing last night. The last time these two met, Prince shot 3 for 11 from the floor in Oklahoma City. Contrary to the norm, Prince has shot worse at home this season at 38.7%, and this game will be played in Atlanta.
Add it all up, and Prince is a player to avoid tonight.
Dewayne Dedmon, C, Atlanta Hawks
FanDuel Price: $6,000
Steven Adams is really banged up for the Thunder after leaving Monday's game with a hip injury. If Adams ends up playing, Dewayne Dedmon will have a tough matchup to contend with -- even if Adams is at less than 100 percent. However, contrary to what may be popular opinion, Dedmon might be a landmine if Adams sits, too.
In games that Adams has missed this season, the Thunder have gone small, and if they play Carmelo Anthony or Patrick Patterson at center, it could be a mismatch for Dedmon, leading to him playing fewer minutes. Dakari Johnson has also been solid on defense this season when he gets the minutes, so no matter which way the Adams injury news falls, Dedmon holds some risk tonight.
Ish Smith, PG, Detroit Pistons
FanDuel Price: $5,300
The Detroit Pistons have the lowest implied total of the night at 94.75, and it doesn't get much tougher for an NBA team than playing the Utah Jazz on the road.
The Jazz are holding point guards to 0.86 FanDuel points per minute, which ranks sixth-best. Since the All Star Break, the Jazz have been even more impressive defensively at home, posting a 95.7 defensive rating over the last four weeks.
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.