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?
Reggie Jackson, PG, Detroit Pistons
FanDuel Price: $6,300
So far on the young season, Reggie Jackson has been one of the least efficient point guards in the NBA. He is scoring at a decent rate (16.8 points per game) but has needed 13.2 shots to reach that total, thanks to a dismal 35.1% field goal percentage. When Jackson has gotten volume, he has been useful in DFS. However, over the last few nights, that has not been the case.
The Detroit Pistons' point guard has posted back-to-back sub-25.0 FanDuel points nights as he has lost some playing time to Ish Smith and ceded some ball-handling responsibilities to Blake Griffin. Jackson has also played in just 24.6 minutes per night in those two games, while his 4.2 assists per game and 23.2% usage rate for the season are the lowest since he joined the Pistons.
Facing off against the Boston Celtics, Jackson is in for a rough night. The C's limit opponents to under 40% shooting while giving up a league-low 96.3 points per game. They also have been tough on point guards, surrendering just 0.85 FanDuel points per minute to the position, making Jackson a player to avoid on Tuesday's busy DFS slate.
Otto Porter, SF, Washington Wizards
FanDuel Price: $6,000
One of the league's best sharpshooters over the last few seasons, Otto Porter is off to a horrific start this season. The Washington Wizards' forward is shooting 41.1% from the field, but when he steps behind the arc his success rate drops to a pathetic 21.7%. Over his last three games, Porter has sunk just 3-of-13 three-pointers for 7.7 points per game. His lack of production has not only hurt fantasy owners -- an average of 16.8 FanDuel points in his last thee games -- but the Wizards as well.
The team has reduced Porter's minutes, playing him just 25.2 per in their last three contests. Even as Porter is still the starter, Kelly Oubre has been seeing more minutes (28.1) and scoring more points (16.0) than Porter the last week. Tuesday won't get much easier for Porter either, as he faces a stingy Memphis Grizzlies defense.
The Grizzlies give up the second-fewest points per game (101.0) while posting the fourth-best defensive rating (101.8). Small forwards have struggled against Memphis, too, scoring just 0.87 FanDuel points per minutes. Until Porter gets back on track, its best to stay away from him on Tuesday night.
Dario Saric, PF, Philadelphia 76ers
FanDuel Price: $5,600
Dario Saric is in one awful shooting funk. The Philadelphia 76ers' power forward is sinking just 35.1% of is 11.0 shots per game this season. As expected, his scoring average has dropped to 10.9 points per game with his fantasy production suffering with it.
Saric is posting just 20.2 FanDuel points per night over his last three games. After a 1-for-9 shooting night on Monday, the big man, unfortunately, is faced with a tough matchup on Tuesday that could continue his poor shooting streak.
The Sixers face the Toronto Raptors, who are one of the better defenses in the league so far this season. The Raps give up the ninth-fewest points per game while opponents are shooting just 42.2% from the floor, the fourth-lowest rate in the league. Power forwards specifically have been held in check, with the position scoring just 0.9 FanDuel points per minute, a bottom-10 clip this season.
Dale Redman is not a FanDuel employee. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.