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?
Goran Dragic, PG, Miami Heat
FanDuel Price: $7,200
After lighting up fantasy scoreboards in March, Goran Dragic has dimmed in April.
Over his last four games, the Miami Heat point guard has posted three sub-30 FanDuel point games as his offensive responsibility has shriveled. With the return of Justise Winslow, plus Dwyane Wade re-living his glory days during his final NBA action, Dragic has been the third wheel in Miami. He has scored 11 or fewer points in three of his last four games while seeing his shot attempts get reduced to just 10 on Tuesday, his lowest in over two weeks.
Dragic also saw his minutes take a big hit last night as well. After averaging over 38 a night from March 28 to April 7, the guard played 32 minutes against the Sixers. On the second half of a back-to-back tonight, along with the Heat being eliminated from playoff contention, there's little reason to expect a monster workload for Dragic against the Brooklyn Nets. Add in Wade playing his last NBA game and Dragic is likely to see minutes in the 20s.
That reduced playing time while carrying a hefty $7,200 price tag makes Dragic a risky play tonight.
Walter Lemon Jr., SG, Chicago Bulls
FanDuel Price: $6,500
Walter Lemon Jr. has been one of the best stories for a tanking Chicago Bulls team over the last week or so. The Chicago native got to see his first NBA action of his career on March 30 and even got to start a trio of games. In his first four NBA games, Lemon was a DFS star as he averaged 35.6 FanDuel points in 30.2 minutes per game, all while costing below $5,000 in three of the four games.
However, on Tuesday night, Lemon’s fantasy value came crashing back to Earth.
Lemon was moved back to the bench in favor of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot against the New York Knicks and only saw 18.2 minutes of action. He finished with a disappointing stat line of 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 15.8 FanDuel points on Tuesday. Even with the reduced role for the Bulls, Lemon’s salary rose for Wednesday. The guard will cost you $6,500 to plug into your lineups, something we advise against.
While it is hard to predict what NBA coaches will do with their rotations for the season finale, the uncertainty of Lemon’s place in the Bulls rotation, plus his increased price tag, make him one to stay away from tonight.
Evan Turner, SF, Portland Trail Blazers
FanDuel Price: $5,400
Even before the return of C.J. McCollum on Sunday, Evan Turner has seen his playing time in Portland reduced. But in the last two games with McCollum in tow, Turner has barely made it off the bench.
In his last three games, Turner has played fewer than 22 minutes in each contest, including only 16.1 minutes on Tuesday night. As expected, less court time has meant fewer fantasy points. Turner has posted fewer than 19 FanDuel points in two of his last three games including just 16.1 last night. He went 2-for-5 from the field for 6 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists against the Lakers.
In the regular season finale, the Blazers still need a win to try and move up to the three seed in the West, giving more incentive to lean on McCollum and Maurice Harkless tonight.
On one of the most unpredictable nights of the DFS season, it is best to limit the uncertainty with those you play. That should leave Turner out of your lineups tonight.