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?
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Wilson Chandler, SF, Denver Nuggets
FanDuel Price: $5,200
Wilson Chandler has been playing really well lately for the Denver Nuggets, but Friday he is away from home and up against a very tough matchup on both ends of the court against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Paul George.
The Thunder are holding small forwards to 0.79 FanDuel points per minute this season, and George is limiting players he defends to 37.9% shooting outside of 10 feet. Over 40% of Chandler's shots have come from 16 feet or further in 2017-18 and considering Chandler has struggled against the Thunder overall this season, it's not a risk worth taking on Friday.
Dragan Bender, PF, Phoenix Suns
FanDuel Price: $4,000
Up until Wednesday Dragan Bender had played at least 24 minutes in 13 straight games and 30-plus minutes in 10 of those 13. However, Bender was limited to 19 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers, and he could see even less playing time on Friday with his teammate Alan Williams back and healthy.
Williams has only played sparingly in his first two games of the season, but that could start to change as the Suns get a look at him next to Marquese Chriss. If Bender continues to lose playing time down the stretch, he is a hard fade in DFS.
Dillon Brooks, SF, Memphis Grizzlies
FanDuel Price: $4,000
Dillon Brooks is coming off a 32.2 FanDuel-point performance in the Memphis Grizzlies' win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, and that could make him a little more popular on Friday. However, a, matchup with the Utah Jazz could also turn Brooks into a landmine coming off the big game.
The Jazz are the top-ranked team in our DvP Matchup Chart at defending small forwards, limiting them to only 0.75 FanDuel points per minute. Brooks is averaging only 10.9 FanDuel points per game over his last four road contests, so it's best to avoid him in one of his tougher matchups of the season.
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.