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?
Clint Capela, C, Houston Rockets
FanDuel Price: $7,300
With the Houston Rockets already clinching the number-one overall seed in the upcoming Western Conference Playoffs, they are going to be cautious with their starters minutes' down the stretch. This could be especially true as they play a Portland Trail Blazers team that will most likely be without Damian Lillard on Thursday.
As double-digit favorites and playing a team that's been solid against centers defensively, Clint Capela is a player to avoid on Thursday. The Blazers are holding centers to 1.04 FanDuel points per minute this season, which is the 5th-best defense versus centers in our DvP Matchup Chart. On top of that, Capela has struggled against Jusuf Nurkic in the past, averaging just 9.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over 24.6 minutes in their four career meetings.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, PF, Brooklyn Nets
FanDuel Price: $6,600
With DeMarre Carroll already ruled out for Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is going to have his hands full as the primary defender of Giannis Antetokounmpo. As their past matchups against one another have shown, that is a potential death sentence for Hollis-Jefferson's fantasy value tonight.
On top of expending the energy needed to guard a beast like Antetokounmpo, Hollis-Jefferson will likely be defended by the Greek Freak on the opposite end of the floor -- and that spells trouble. Antetokounmpo is holding players he defends to just 42.0% shooting from the floor, including 52.0% shooting within 10 feet, making RHJ a questionable fantasy play in anything but a large-scale tournament.
Wilson Chandler, SF, Denver Nuggets
FanDuel Price: $4,900
Wilson Chandler's struggles continued in his return to the lineup Tuesday (tallying just 18.7 FanDuel points in 31.1 minutes) against the Indiana Pacers, and he has a similarly tough matchup Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves have obviously been better against small forwards with Jimmy Butler on the court, but they have not suffered much on the wing without him. Minnesota is still holding small forwards to 0.76 FanDuel points per minute this season, which ranks second-best in our DvP Matchup Chart. Considering this, and his poor performance of late, Chandler may not be worth the risk, despite the appealing price tag.
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.