NBA

3 Daily Fantasy Basketball Players to Avoid on 3/21/17

Jordan Sharp  —  @TehSharp Mar 21st, 2017
Andrew Wiggins has to square off with Kawhi Leonard tonight, making him a player to avoid in NBA DFS contests on Tuesday. Who else should you keep away from your lineups?

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 only takes one player to sink a lineup. Searching for the landmines could mean the difference from winning or losing your contests.

Andrew Wiggins, SF, Minnesota Timberwolves

FanDuel Price: $7,000

Andrew Wiggins has the toughest matchup of any small forward this evening according to our DvP Chart and it's for a good reason. Wiggins will likely be shadowed by Kawhi Leonard all night, and history tells us that's been bad for Wiggins' fantasy value.

In nine carer games against Leonard, Wiggins is shooting 34.4% from the floor and he has broken the 20-point barrier just once. In his last seven games against the Klaw, he's averaging just 21.5 FanDuel points per game.

The San Antonio Spurs are holding small forwards to just 0.66 FanDuel points per minute this season. With Leonard still dominating the matchup defensively, it's best to lay off the Minnesota Timberwolves' swingman.

C.J. McCollum, SG, Portland Trail Blazers

FanDuel Price: $7,100

Tonight's matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks is one of the better games of the night. Both teams are playing great basketball (winning 8 of their last 10), but while Portland has been getting it done behind a scorching Damian Lillard, Milwaukee has been winning with defense.

A big reason for their recent surge in defense might be the return of Khris Middleton, who is limiting players he defends to just 42.3% shooting from the floor, including 33.3% from beyond the arc.

So far this season, the Bucks are holding opposing shooting guards to 0.74 FanDuel points per minute.

Alex Len, C, Phoenix Suns

FanDuel Price: $4,600

Alex Len is a tricky player to gauge tonight, but he might be considered a cash-game play on FanDuel because of his cheap salary. However, our our models project Len to log just 22.2 minutes. When that's combined with his recent foul problems, he may be better kept as a tournament option, or faded altogether.

Len has been very foul-prone since taking over as the starting center, averaging 5.7 on a per-36-minute basis in his last 12 starts. That gets even worse during his 10 games this month, where he's averaging 6.4 fouls per 36 minutes.

Not only will he be outmatched by Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat on both ends tonight, he could very well see the bench if the foul troubles continue.

Alan Williams has played more minutes than Len in almost every game this month, and with Devin Booker returning, Len could also see a decrease in his double-digit shot attempts from the last two games.