3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 4/13/16
Finding players you want to roster is a lot easier than finding players to avoid. Here are three players based on their price and matchups that could be landmines for your rosters tonight.
You can find a ton of great information and research on guys you might want to include in your DFS NBA lineups tonight, but what about some 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 each night. After all, it takes only one player to sink a lineup.
With a huge slate of NBA games on tonight, searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.
With all the injuries and guys resting tonight, there are landmines and value plays all over the slate. Always double-check the news before rosters lock!
Andre Drummond, C, Detroit Pistons
FanDuel Price: $7,700
Andre Drummond's minutes and production have been trending downward over the last few weeks, and while there is a chance Stan Van Gundy plays his guys good minutes tonight, there is also a chance that he plays his starters very few minutes in a game that means nothing. This is also going to be the Pistons’ matchup in the first round of the playoffs, so there is always a chance Drummond gets sat down altogether.
Either way, Drummond has a tough matchup against the Cavaliers if he plays. They will not be resting Tristan Thompson or Timofey Mozgov tonight, two tough matchups for Drummond in the post. This season, Cleveland is the number-one team at defending centers, allowing only 0.89 FanDuel points per minute to the position.
Drummond may be a great tournament play if he gets his full allotment of minutes, but he is nowhere near a safe play. However, on a night like this, literally no one is safe.
Elfrid Payton, PG, Orlando Magic
FanDuel Price: $5,900
There are a billion guys resting or hurt tonight, and that makes for one hell of a complicated DFS slate. The Magic are not immune to it, either. They are playing a Hornets team with something left to play for, and the Magic could be in line to get some players back from injury tonight.
Nikola Vucevic did not play in Orlando’s game against Milwaukee two nights ago, and neither did Victor Oladipo or Aaron Gordon. While Oladipo is still out, there is a chance Vucevic plays tonight, and it looks as if Gordon is set to play as well. Elfrid Payton put up a double-double with all those guys out, but now here on Wednesday against a much tougher opponent, don’t fall into the Payton trap he set for you after his big game Monday.
Charlotte ranks sixth-best against point guards this season, giving up only 0.77 FanDuel points per minute. The Hornets also are one of the best home defensive teams in the league, and with something to play for tonight, look for them to lock down Payton.
Omer Asik, C, New Orleans Pelicans
FanDuel Price: $3,700
We are digging deep for landmines tonight! Alexis Ajinca looks questionable tonight for the Hornets, which means the only two centers the Pelicans will have tonight if he sits are Omer Asik and Kendrick Perkins. Asik put up a nice game against the Bulls, two nights ago, and if Ajinca is out, that could lead some to jump on the Asik value train.
However, that game was a revenge game for Asik, and the Bulls are already one of the worst frontcourt defenses in the league, ranking 21st against centers. The Wolves, on the other hand, rank sixth-best against centers this season, giving up fewer than a fantasy point per minute to the position. If Asik and Perkins split minutes tonight at center, that could hurt Asik’s value even more.
Asik also has to try and defend the eventual Rookie of the Year in Karl-Anthony Towns, which is no small order. Asik is averaging close to 4.5 fouls per-36 minutes over his last four games, and defending Towns might only hurt that number.
