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?
Jamal Murray, PG, Denver Nuggets
FanDuel Price: $7,000
Jamal Murray is coming off a poor shooting night against the Memphis Grizzlies, and his season-long road woes may continue tonight in a tough matchup against Goran Dragic and the Miami Heat.
The Heat are holding point guards to just 0.86 FanDuel points per minute, and the defense from Dragic has been a big reason for the success. Dragic is limiting players he defends to 42.2% shooting from the floor this season.
Nick Young, SG, Golden State Warriors
FanDuel Price: $5,500
Nick Young is coming off a monster game against the Phoenix Suns, an outing in which he scored 20 points in 42 minutes. However, with Patrick McCaw set to return tonight and a matchup against a tougher opponent in the San Antonio Spurs, our models are projecting Young for a down night.
The Spurs are holding shooting guards to just 0.78 FanDuel points per minute, and at his price point, Young would almost certainly need another 40 minutes and 20 real-world points to pay off his price tag. It might be time to jump off the Swaggy P Express, even with the Golden State Warriors playing short-handed.
Zach Randolph, PF, Sacramento Kings
FanDuel Price: $5,500
Zach Randolph derives most of his value when the Sacramento Kings are without a couple members of their frontcourt. With Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Kosta Koufos healthy, Randolph was a DNP-CD last time out.
That could change tonight, but there is no telling who the Kings will rest on any given night. Randolph could see another night off Monday for all we know, and considering the game is the last to tip off at 10:00 p.m. EST, we probably won't know until after roster lock. This makes Randolph a very risky play tonight.
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.